The Insanity Of Us
by akasha-d
Summary: From the touch on his hand, I let my fingers slide their way up his forearm, along tense, slick, biceps, over pronounced shoulder blades to rest at the back of his neck. "If you wanted permission to court me Enishi, all you had to do was ask.”
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: They are not mine, and never could be. Oh the cruelty of the world.**

A/N: Sorry, had some trouble uploading the second chap and all kinds of hell broke loose. Revamped chapter and did light editing that simply had to be done. Please review. I write as a hobby and I work really, really hard for it.

Please review if only one letter to let me know that my time and effort is worth it.

Quote of the day: _Sorry, you are way too sane to be interesting. _

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**The Insanity of Us.**

Chapter1: Ghosts.

The night was cold, sharp and bitter. Spring was rearing its head, but as of yet it was still subdued by the firm foot of winter.

The tea I consumed was thick and sweet. The normal bitter tang of green tea muted heavily by the distinct and now familiar coiling sweet taste of fresh honey.

It was strange to note that Kenshin, soon after both of us earned a steady and decent income, made it a point to procure fresh honey at every chance he got. The man had a sweet tooth the size of a small country and only recently indulged himself in it. He also felt the need to inflict it upon those around him.

I find myself smiling into the nearly too hot tea.

The moon hung like a cruel grin in the sky, its crescent shape gave only enough light to create darker shadows and bleed all colors to a uniform grey.

It was an ideal night to awaken dead ghosts…or to put them to rest.

Beside me, leaning against the half shadowed wooden pillar of the house verandah, Sano chortled to himself. Lanky as ever, he tucked his arms around his one bended knee and smiled through his ever present fish bone.

"Darn it Jou-Chan, never knew you were a poet! A morbid one at that."

I smiled.

Sano was in Mongolia or some other equally exotic land and has long since given up writing. As far as I knew he was still wanted in Tokyo, and Saito is nothing if not determined to nail him into prison.

"Hey it's the thought that counts! I am with you in spirit! And don't diss my writing k, you try sending mail on a ship constantly being dunked by water. Paper and water don't go ya know!"

I nodded and blinked. I tried my best not to answer out loud to these conversations. I was already considered eccentric by the townspeople, if I started sprouting off to invisible people I had no doubt I will be labeled insane and my currently bustling school would die.

Before me Yahiko ran like an enraged chicken after a certain little boy with flaming red hair. They both were alternately screeching and giggling as they chased each other around the yard for some perceived insult or other. It was another twisted parody of the past re-enacted in my loneness.

Loneliness in the end was my bitter companion.

Yahiko was no longer a boy. He was a tall and handsome man. A master of Kamiaya Kassin Ryu. He has long since earned the title of warrior. Like any warrior, he left to find himself. He left to find the greatness that lives with him. I harbor no doubt that he will find it.

Kijin my son. He, like his father before him felt the need to prove himself. Leaving home to be 'worthy' of a legacy he hated to begin with. I prayed everyday that the path he chose would not be the eco of guilt and blood that his father carried.

Their echoing footsteps and laughter seemed to be louder than humanly possible. Then again, there was nothing truly human about them.

From a familiar corner of the yard, before the wooden frame of the Kamiaya well, Kenshin continued his lifetime quest to put a dent in the laundry pile. Snickering to himself, Kenshin made no attempt to hide the fact that he heard Sano's words. The man's hearing was legendary, and after living with him for as many years I have merely subscribed myself to ignoring the fact that he always knew what anyone was talking about at any one time in this house.

"Ma Ma Sano, my Kaoru has a great many talents, the least of which is poetry." Kenshin continued through the motions of laundry as though two boys were not running circles around him shouting insults at each other.

Kenshin. My love and husband has long since left me. Not for a battle or for duty or guilt, but he left from a weakness within himself. His heart, weakened from long exposure to impossible odds, and battles no man should survive, gave way not two years ago. I became his widow at the age of 32.

For some strange reason, he never appeared close to me on nights like these. He came either to the well or the kitchen, never standing by me or speaking directly to me. I feared the meaning behind this so I avoided thinking about it too much.

I believe I was already disturbed enough, I did not need to ponder facts that could disturb me further.

"Once again Tanuki you somehow manage to make the world revolve around you! I honestly wonder how you and Ken-san managed to be together at all! It must have been a constant match of who can one up the other on guilt."

Megumi once again managed to be both my savior and bane. The woman knew me too well and subsequently always knew exactly where to strike with her sharp tongue. .

She snorted, and gracefully glided her way to the verandah. Coolly settling herself down, she waved a beautifully packaged bento before my face. "Despite fact that you seem rather proud of your limited, and I** mean** limited, skills in the kitchen, I have taken it upon myself to ensure that you do not starve or choke on the burnt edges of whatever meat you have at hand."

True enough, I was no grand chef like Megumi or even Kenshin but I could feed my husband and son without killing them.

It took years and years of patient training from Kenshin himself even for that.

"Stuff it Foxy! And gimme the grub, I am starving here!" Sano smirked at the doctor and dully patted his stomach. "A man's got to eat!"

"A man?" She asked, arching a hoity brow, "I see no man here, as for pet roosters, I believe corn is the preferred feed."

On that thread they continue. Pushing barbs back and forth between them like a shared toy. They insult everything about each other from taste to clothing to pots.

I laugh, I could not help myself. The both of them have been in this constant state of 'somewhat relationship' that caused them both to snipe at each other for no logical reason.

Well, being in love is rarely logical and both of them were tragically, stupidly, blindly in love.

Megumi was practicing medicine in Aizu, her home town. She left soon after Sano. News of some family that survived the fire came to her and she was determined to return to them. I truthfully suspected her leaving to be cemented by Sano's own journey and her loneliness without his hounding.

She wrote occasionally.

"Oh great! You now give points to the fox for writing!" "Sano cried out, "I told you, I want to, but water and paper man!"

"Don't blame the sea for your absolute laziness. I highly doubt that those chicken scratches you call writing qualify as a written form of communication anyway." Megumi replied, trusting the bento at him.

Her words settled into their final echoes when I noticed an ill and chilling silence. An unnatural sort of stillness in the air, that throughout my life has proven to be the harbinger of challenging times.

For an instant, a second in time that I was certain could not have existed in reality, I was sure that Kenshin glanced back at me with eyes the color of molten gold.

The hair at the back of my neck promptly stood in attention.

My two boys seemed to recognize the situation and stared at Kenshin then me in the adorably blank way that only children could do.

"Kaoru-donno, might receive a guest soon." Kenshin smoothly got up and wiped his soapy hands on the apron he religiously wore when doing the laundry. "I shall go make the tea."

With those words and a quiet shuffle, he promptly faded away into shadow.

I blinked, stunned. Kenshin, memory or otherwise had never in his married life suddenly up and leave. He knew that his first attempt at it has scared me for the remainder of my life far too deeply to react well such acts from him.

Oh, not to say that he didn't leave. He just gave ample warning beforehand.

Megumi on the other hand seemed to expect this and only sighed.

"Yeesh, you'd think the guy would grow a pair of balls when it comes to this, but NO. Still the wuss he ever was. He knows as well as we do that this has to happen."

I glanced at Sano, my voice still sealed away in my head, I am tempted for once to break my own silence and ask.

"Yo Busu! I'm gonna drag the stinky beast to the river to see if it can unstink him. We'll be safe so don't come hounding us ok!" Yahiko blasted, clenching his hand in the collar of Kijin's Gi.

Kijin himself seemed to struggle in the grip in the desperate way children did when in the grasp of someone taller. "Don't call Okasan Busu you no-brain! And I'm not the stinky one, You are!"

Not waiting for my approval, Yahiko muttered darkly to himself as he dragged the protesting redhead behind him towards the front gates before they too faded away like diluted ink.

As they left I could have sworn that the cool, nearly chill breeze, dropped in temperature. I shivered and dully rubbed my arms. I was not manic believer in omens, but I was having an ill feeling about what was yet to come.

Feeling worried, I glanced at Megumi and Sanosuke, both of whom seemed to be rather tight lipped about the ongoing events. For the first time, in a long time I questioned the true reality behind my 'imagined' companions.

"Oh come on Jou-chan, it aint gonna bite you or anything. She just wanted to talk. Ken is just being a wus."

She?

My mind grasped at the thread and slowly begun to unravel it into a sensible picture. Kenshin for all of his wondering had limited experience with women. He was a good looking man, but as a Hitokiri he caused fear not passion, as a rouroni he triggered pity not love. There were few women that he would know well enough to anticipate, and only one he would fear.

The air around me cooled even more.

"I think she's got it." Megumi said idly, running her fingers through her long black hair. To a passer by she looked calm and collected. Anyone in our little family knew that when Megumi fussed with her hair, she was agitated.

"Tomoe-san?" I ask, wishing that what I suspected would be proven untrue.

"Bingo, always knew you were a smart one Jou-Chan. But don't fret, there really isn't any point to it now." Sano leaned back and rested his weight on his elbows in his trademark slouch. "All you can do now, is hold on and enjoy the ride."

His words were nearly muffled completely but a sudden, rough wind that shook the empty branches of the sakura tree in the garden. It was so sudden and violent that I instinctively thrust both my arms up to shield my face. It was an instinctive gesture brought on by years of martial arts training.

As sudden as the burst comes, it fades away.

It is more training than brawn that forces me to glance around the garden for potential threats. As I said before, there is a history of ill omens and chills in my life.

I find myself nearly too afraid to look.

The first thing I note is that I am alone again. Sano and Megumi have faded off to wherever these figments of my imagination go to when they leave. I curse them to be all kinds of bastards.

It wouldn't have been so unnerving if I was not alone.

It was a ripple that finally caught my attention. The shadows blow the barren sakura tree moved and rippled like water in the ocean. the darkness shifting and arching in ways that were wrong. It was unnatural and disturbing.

Fear became a led brick on my tongue.

The ripple became more violent, lashing out in waves of inky blackness as though someone or something was trying to tear through it.

My head was gleefully going through every story I have ever heard about Oni's and Yureis and their need to feed on human flesh.

These stories only got more vivid with age and boredom.

The rippling darkness was finally pierced by a pale, nearly glowing hand. Around me the howling wind started to resemble unholy shrieks.

The artic chill that shot through my body at the sight makes my hair stand on end.

She was there.

Hand made way for arm, arm for shoulder, shoulder for head and finally her whole torso was revealed.

It was all truly a graceful production. If one didn't take into account the morbidity of it.

Though half draped in shadow, she looked stunningly delicate and otherworldly.

What I could see of her kimono was as pale as the grim moon, with only a suspicious crimson bloom over the left side of her chest. She stood just at the edges of the dark ring of shadows below the sakura tree and stared at me with dark knowing eyes.

Once again the wind howled its disapproval.

When she spoke I felt strangely like weeping.

"_Save him" _

For a moment I was sorely tempted just to get up, go to my room and pass out. If I could have moved, I probably would have done it. Her voice was soft, not annoyingly so, but delicate like thin ice on a leaf. I nearly expected to hear the chimes of tiny bells along with the haunting sound.

I had the sudden, irrational need to dig my own grave and lie in it. Get it all over and done with once and for all.

All said and done, this woman was the figure that haunted the steps of my husband for so many years. It was her in her eyes and image that I judged my merits and failures as a woman.

That lead brick on my tongue promptly gave birth and raised a family. I couldn't make a sound and part of me didn't really want to.

My mind was running around in unhelpful circles switching between saying "Oh Kami-sama" and "I want my daddy!"

She strained forward but was unable to move. It seemed as though she was held back in whatever place she was in but was _needy _for something.

I was terrified that that 'something' was my life or extensions of it.

"Save him. Please! Save him!" She tried to raise her voice, but the protesting wind still muffled most of it. It was this blast of cold wind, rushing past my face like a bucket of mid winter well water that finally awakened me from my mental holiday.

Ok, my brain stopped running around and actually took a listen. Him? Save him? As far as I know the only him that she and I both shared (shudder) was Kenshin.

And I am pretty sure that my late husband was definitely closer to her at this point than I was. Both of them being dead of course.

"Who? Save who?" Not the first time, I both thank and curse God for my less than smart temper and impatience. I dislike puzzles and mysteries. They all lead to great tragedy and I was fully done with them.

"He comes" She answered with a distracted glance behind her "He comes broken, teach him, fix him, save him. I cannot." Her voice wavered and it sounded almost like her very words were weeping.

"You are the last one."

Her final words nearly completely muffled by the violent wind tugging at her. In a firm graceful sweep she thrusts something into the air, as though throwing a paper ball at me before the inky night and wind once again robbed me of my sight.

I blinked.

And then blinked again. Nothing. There was nothing below the empty sakura tree other than dull shadows. There was no one beside me for company. And defiantly no hint of long dead specters.

Then why was I shivering as though someone not only walked, but was dancing on my grave?

Winter.

It was winter. Of course I was shivering. I probably slept off thinking odd thoughts and was sting outside in the cold for hours.

It had to be a dream.

No God was cruel enough to hint otherwise.

Shaking like frightened rabbit, I gave myself a sound mental smack for not only sleeping outside like a sneaking child but dredging up ghosts that were best left lone. With a forced steady hand I grasped a hold of my now dim lantern and reached out to grasp the ice cold tea tray to return it to the kitchen. It has been along night and I was weary.

For some strange reason, my mind was still going on in its odd mantra of "I want my daddy." I pushed it aside.

A tiny slash of pink caught my eye.

On my lap, resting on my plain blue, winter house robe was a tiny blossom.

I recognize it on sight.

I always liked the plant, it was pretty and it smelt nice. But for obvious reasons Kenshin avoided such trees like the plague. As a result, it was not present in my own garden, out of respect for his peace of mind.

It was a delicate, pink, plum blossom.

Tomoe

My shaking returned with a vengeance.

My hand instinctively reached for it and unfortunately proved to me that this was the real thing.

I could not touch my imagined specters and yet the petals of the flower were cool, smooth and undeniably real.

My mind forces me through the logic of this discovery.

It was late January, not even the toughest weeds dare to peek their head out of the ground and tempt spring. The petals were cool smooth but also soft in the way that paper flowers, even the most exquisite ones, were not.

Plum trees bloom in August.

This bloom should not exist. Not here and definitely not now.

I lean over and try my best not to throw up.

"_Save him" _

My stretched sanity did **not** need this.

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A/N Next chapter will be up on Friday next week.

Thank you to Stubbs101, the upcoming chapter is all for you because you took the trouble. I probably would have given up otherwise. You are much appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: If they were mine, Kenshin would have been Battousai (drool) for most of the show and Kaoru would have whooped a whole more ass. XD.

It's really strange that I had 75 hits (higher than my previous stories) for this one chap, yet no one bothered to review except two. Threedayslate and StarSong, thank you for the reviews, this chapter is going out for you!

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**The Insanity of Us**

Chapter 2: Of Daggers and Doorways 

Mornings were wonderful, glorious things.

In summer the morning wind was crisp and fresh, a cool reprieve from the burning punishment of the hot day. In winter the bed would be warm enough that you could appreciate the power of a warm blanket against the chill wind and gloat at the power of human ingenuity.

I regularly woke up inches before dawn and enjoyed minutes of the sun streaking the dawn's way through the rice paper walls. This of course was right before I dragged myself out of bed and into the furo for a quick clean up and its off to the dojo with me for my morning wake up stretch before my students limp their way to school.

And I use the word limp literally, if anything I find that I became more brutal in my training with age.

Kamiya Kassin Ryu was not for pansies.

"OY BUSU! Get your lazy butt out of bed! You wouldn't let me sleep in for my winter classes and just caus' you're home alone doesn't mean you get to be lazy!" I swear, even if Yahiko was not physically here, the annoying echoes of his presence tempted me to find my bokken and beat his head in, wherever he may be.

"I'm up, I'm up." Yahiko may you sneeze yourself into a lake I gleefully chanted in my head.

With all the optimism of a condemned man I force my eyes to open.

And saw pink.

I blinked blankly at it for a full minute before my reluctant brain engaged itself. The tiny flower perched on the edge of my bed, directly in my line of sight linked up with the memories associated with it.

Tomoe.

Yahiko snorted from his perch on the corner of my futon, still clad in his sleeping robe the young man of apparently 14 was enjoying my suffering. "Thought you could forget didn't ya? Fat hopes there busu."

I roll over and pound my fists into my futon. It is a childish display, but one that used to be satisfying whenever I was frustrated. It has been many years since I indulged myself.

Why. Why did this always happen to me? I must have had some god awful karma to have grief, confusion and the dead or missing thrust at me throughout my life.

Perhaps I was a murderous monk? I mean, that must be bad enough to disserve this level of torment, right?

Yahiko got up from his perch and prodded me with his ungrateful foot "Yeah right busu, like you could have ever been a monk. I would sooner believe that they would make a monk out of Sano. Get moving already, you are going to be late for your own class!"

Letting out a puff of breath, I still my little tantrum and glared at the innocent bloom. I could only barely restrain myself from thrusting out a leg and tripping the boy.

Not like he would fall anyway.

I wanted to lay in bed and let whatever disaster that was yet to come, involving a certain 'him' that I was meant to 'save' come to pass without me. It was so very tempting to do just that.

I grumbled under my breath about ungrateful brats and the evils of the world. My little bout of wishful thinking was pointless in the end. I already knew that my stubborn nature would have none of it.

My stubbornness and ghosts that is.

"Damn it busu! How many times have I got to tell ya. I am not a ghost. Don't go around wishing for my death like that!" Yahiko screeched and in typical fashion stomped his way to the shoji door and slammed it open and shut with his exit.

My ghosts had at least tact enough to leave me when I wished to change out of my sleeping robe.

Going through my morning routine with all the awareness of a dead butterfly, I finally centered myself just as I opened my front gate.

My students had all of an hour before they were late and with the mood I was in, they would sorely regret it.

With my attention drawn by the thoughts of all the swings that would be performed I miss it till it nearly smacks me in the face.

**Dagger.**

It took my still strained brain a moment to comprehend the sight.

There was a dagger stabbed into my front door.

Considering the fact that I was already unnerved by my visitors the previous evening, I took the discovery remarkably well.

After all it has been years since threats of the dagger or blade variety were brought down onto the Kamiya Kassin Dojo. My reaction to such should be predictable.

I laughed.

What did they expect? Did they, whoever they were, expect me to whimper like some child at the sight of a sharp pointy object stabbed into a piece of wood?

I nearly wish Sano were here to appreciate the humor in this.

I have seen swords run through living human beings. I have seen death it all its many masks step onto my doorway and tell me that I was next. I have seen loved ones hurt, broken and bleeding.

This was nearly decorative by comparison.

Curious, I took a step closer to the blade and studied it. There was a lot you could tell about an individual from the blade they used.

It was elegant. I guessed it was about the length of my forearm and polished to a painful sheen. The parts of the actual blade I could see were sharpened to a deadly edge. This weapon was no wall ornament.

Silver in color, the hilt of it was etched in a pattern that served both as an easy grip as well as a decorative addition.

A white tiger glared at me from its perch encircling the blades handle.

This was no joke, and definitely not a challenge from one of the more chauvinistic Dojo's that still tried to inflict their views on what should be the relationship between women and kendo.

This instrument was designed to serve its deadly purpose no doubt but was also designed to appeal to a decidedly unique taste.

Most men in this town had all the taste of a rotten potato.

I noted something odd about the engraving of the blade. Something about the design of the tiger was not quite Japanese in origin. The edges were to sharp, the glare too fierce.

I have seen etchings and sculptures from 'exotic China' on display in front of the municipal hall often enough to recognize the trend. No, this tiger was defiantly forged in China.

Sure that I had no need to report anymore 'harassment' cases to the local police officers I gingerly tucked my hand around the kinfe's handle and try to pry it out of my front door.

I was surprised by how much effort it took for me to loosen it from the wood let alone free it.

Whoever stuck it into my door was not only strong but tall as well. The hilt, when in the wood, was about level with my nose, meaning that the stabber was probably a full head and a half taller than me if he struck the door at chest level, which generally was the case.

So I had a tall, strong man, my mind hypostasized, who might come from or have visited China, come to my front gate and stab it with a very pretty pointy object.

And to leave such a pretty and no doubt expensive gift behind was defiantly no random fluke.

I simply was not that lucky.

It was then that I notice the tiny bit of parchment clinging to the blade.

Parchment? Did he leave a message?

I looked around the area, but give up before I truly begin. The area is a mess of sand and dead branches. Once again Kami-sama has a good laugh at my luck.

Some poor man, with some grudge or other, leaves a message stabbed to my door, and the message gets blown away by a passing wind.

Perhaps his luck isn't so hot either.

If I recall correctly, the wind last night was quiet violent. I shudder to remember why it was unnaturally so.

Hold up.

My mind rewinds and came to its own conclusions without my prompting.

I had a plum blossom, sitting innocently on my dresser, linked to a memory of a dead woman asking me to 'save him'. I now have a dagger stabbed into my front door, clearly made in china, stabbed by a 'him' with a missing note.

Three bets say that the two were linked.

"Kamiya-Sensei!"

I blinked, shaken from my mental rile against karma and thoughts about the number of people I must have killed as a monk by a deep, familiar voice. I turned warily around only to be greeted with the deep thumping sounds of footsteps slowing down from a run and the worried figure of my star pupil.

"Sensei! Is that another challenge? I swear I will go after those idiots myself and beat them to an idiot pulp!" Hijiri Takemoto could, at times be just as bad as Yahiko when it came to being impulsive.

The young man joined my dojo about thirteen years ago. He came to me as a tiny, wimpy brat, and in time and with training has grown into a giant of a man that could easily tower over even Sanosuke.

He has proven himself to be one of my more diligent pupils. He was not naturally skilled in sward fighting, but with the amount of effort he put into training placed him nearly on par with both Yahiko and Kijin. He now held the title of assistant instructor, as they both did before the road called them.

At the age of 23 he was probably harder on my introductory students than even I was.

"No, Take-kun, this is something a little different." I sighed and gave him a warning glare "The last time you 'went after those idiots' as you say, several students from that dojo mysteriously quit on the spot and unless I'm mistaken, moved provinces as well."

He grinned unrepentantly and flicked his hand through his dark, shaggy hair. He proceeded to proudly swing his bokken to rest on his shoulders in what could be perceived as a manly pose only by the blind and stupid.

"What can I say Kamiya-sensei? When I use my words, idiots find themselves getting a valuable education."

I snorted at that and once again studied the blade in hand. I knew that despite his act Take had the bad habit of worrying about me to the point of annoyance and would, at the drop of a hat, defend me from anything and everything that might be tempted to harm me.

I wondered if part of my bad karma included overbearing men?

I paused at the thought, savoring it in my mind.

There was something…something important I was missing here.

My mind stilled and picked at the word. Worrying at it like a tenacious dog with a bone.

Why were the words 'overbearing men' suddenly so interesting?

In an instant combination of karma, bad luck and the random thought processes of my mind I knew.

I did not only know, I **knew.**

The puzzle seemed to flow together as these things sometimes do. Like a kata you tried over and over again to master only to get it flawlessly after you take a break.

Overbearing men with bad karma.

Tall with notable strength.

A white tiger insignia

A high end dagger from China

Overbearing men with a dead sibling.

A visit from said sibling

Oh royal shit.

It was Enishi.

The dagger belonged to Enishi.

I was certain of it.

My luck was strange enough to warrant it.

Why the HELL would Enishi have an issue with me? Perhaps he has not heard of Kenshin's death and wanted a re-match?

I nearly snort to myself. The only way he didn't hear about it is if he lived underground for the past two years. Even Misao in Kyoto heard about it and sent a pigeon with her condolences within a day of his death. Granted she was the head of a spy network, but even at that distance, the speed was quite impressive. I was pretty sure some hill men in Hokkaido were talking about it within the week.

My Kenshin was simply that popular.

"_Save him"_

Tomoe's words rang through my head with terrible finality.

I already knew what needed to be done and strangely enough I was looking forward to it.

What did it say about one's sanity when one was looking forward to meeting up with a mad man?

I sighed to myself and looked at the dagger once again. This whole situation could become really ugly, really fast.

"Sensei? So, where is it from and what do you want me to do?" Take asks, as eager as a little puppy.

I smile at the analogy. At times he really did resemble a cute puppy.

"Nothing Take-kun. This is nothing at all."

If something was meant to happen, it would happen. I could rant and rail and curse high hell for it, but all that would do is leave me breathless.

I swiftly turned around and marched my way to the kitchen to get some tea. No human being should be forced to contend with upheavals of this nature without strong tea and some meditation.

Behind me, Taka trails away looking agitated and muttering about the damage to the front door.

Perhaps I did learn a thing or two from Kenshin and his infinite patience. Everything that would happen, would happen as it should.

I could accept that.

But I didn't have to like it.

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Ok guys, my life has been hectic lately and I really, really like this story but I just don't have the spare time for it. And I really need the motivation to actually do it. So to give me time I have decided to include a math system to it.

Reviews speed of updates.

More than 3 reviews update within a week

Less than 3 reviews no promises.

I'm sorry but I just really have to know if anyone is interested in reading the story at all.


	3. Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: **They are not mine, and never could be. Oh the cruelty of the world.**

258 HITS!

A/N: A big thank you goes out to **Stubbs101**, **Anonymous, ****Dark-Valar****, ****Fickle Luck**( under duress) for your reviews. You were my motivation for this chapter and I probably would not have finished it otherwise.

Quote of the day: _If I am ending up in hell, than by George I am gonna' earn it!_

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**The insanity of us**

**Chapter 3**:The Beginning of Interesting Times

My life, was a string of instances that morbidly insisted on repeating themselves.

I was born. My mother died. I grew up. My father died. I got married. Dr Gensai died. I had a son. Some years later Kenshin died.

I should really stop having milestones in my life. I was running out of people to loose.

After my fathers' death, I was shunned and left alone. After Kenshin's death, everyone else left and I was left alone.

So I was not to my great surprise to me, that the next night was exactly the same as the previous one.

The great wheel of misfortune turns for one Kamiya, once known as Himura, Kaoru.

The night was cold, sharp and bitter.

The moon hung like a cruel grin, perhaps a slightly lesser of one, in the sky, its crescent shape giving only enough light to create darker shadows and bleed all colors to grey.

Joy to me.

Mayhap my last life involved me being not only a murderous monk but a murderous pillaging monk?

Out there, among the darkened edges of the garden, where no light dare enter, he waited.

I wonder what he saw, when he looked back at me.

Did he see a woman, keeling on the verandah of her silent, empty house looking blankly out into a dark garden? Or did he see a warrior awaiting a rival in an empty battlefield with tea tray ready and two cups waiting.

Whatever he saw, he thought it fit to lurk out there, like some ill omen, just waiting to pounce.

I am no fool. By all means an average person would have no inkling of his presence, he is simply that good. But of all the things I was, average was never it.

And it was time he learnt that.

"Would you care for some tea Enishi-san, it must be cold out there and I have no intention of waiting out here for a stalker all night." I believe in simplicity. Not the polite, mind bending grate that my late husband specialized in when faced with an opponent who wanted to observe. I was more of 'poke it in the eye and grab a bull by the horns' type character.

One tiny part of me wondered if I was calling the shadow by the wrong name. I mean, it could honestly be anyone really. I was no great police detective.

I swear I nearly heard a snort from the shadows.

He came forward, walking with a languid air that makes me wonder if he is the one that was actually meant to be here and not me.

I hit the unfortunate nail on the head. Enishi. I'm not sure whether I should pat myself on the back or ram my head against the verandah post.

He stared from the shadows with wary eyes. I suppose after our last meeting he expected to be attacked, at the very least verbally so. His half hidden nervousness coupled with his new, strange physique tempted me to do something terribly motherly

I was a woman and the situation aside, Yukishiro Enishi from all those years ago was a prime example of manhood. I might not have liked it, but I was very, very aware of that fact.

This creature before me is but a whisper of that man.

His hair, the same startling white was the only distinct feature about him that I recognized.

His face was narrow and his eyes, free from those odd glasses, were bloodshot and troubled. His gazed flickered back and forth as though he was expecting all hell to chase after him from the shadows of my house. His body though still carried some distinction had only a fraction of the muscles that made him such a grand fighter.

"_Save him."_

My own head was gleefully spinning in circles going "Save me!"

He stopped just beyond the curling shadow of the bare sakura tree. His eyes, dull but not lifeless seemed to take everything around me in all at once.

The desperate edge etched to his features was nearly alarming.

As the minutes ticked by with no further movement on his part, my impatience decided to take matters into its own hands.

"It is good to see you Enishi-san. It has been a while." As though coaxing a spooked animal I kept my tone smooth but not condescending. I didn't want to scare him, insulting him was worse.

You could end up firmly dead that way.

He relaxed a little. All things said and done, we were Japanese, and propriety and ritual were two of the best shields of discomfort.

Kenshin thought me that.

For a moment he eyed me, as though I was trying to lull him into a relaxed state, and then stab him with my broomstick.

Success! Thank the lord for mindless ceremony!

"I am as well as can be expected for a fugitive." His voice was the same smooth baritone that made me think of the western drink I once had with Misao. Kokolate I think it was called.

"Ah, I take it your trail is one that is still being haunted. It is good to know you can elude them."

He snorted.

"The Police are like a rabid dog after a piece of meat. They know what they want, but little else. Their collective lack of brain makes it easier that it should."

Now this was Enishi. Cold callous and calculating, carrying the ego the size of a small country and the pride of a king, he was not a man to be trifled with.

Strangely enough I preferred this man to the shadow creature there before.

Feeling the thrill of a minor success I thought it best to up the ante a little. This was a dangerous man, I had to teach him that I was not a woman to be trifled with.

In a smooth move I removed the blade from the folds of my obi. I had wrapped it in several layers of scarves beforehand to prevent it from slicing through my clothes while we were having this conversation.

Being nude in the presence of a known mad man was a little too insane for my taste.

"I believe this is yours Enishi-san. It is a lovely blade, though most of my students didn't appreciate the dent it made in my door." I paused and raised my brow at him. "I must apologize because I was unable to retrieve the message that was attached with it. The wind took it away before I could manage to read it."

In what I hoped was a smooth motion, I placed the blade in the waiting tea tray. At the very least, he would have to come forward to retrieve it.

His own brow raised and a strange, calculating gleam appeared in his eyes.

"That is my blade Kamiya but I left no message there." His tone was smooth as he continued, nearly artificially so. "I dislike repeating myself and in this modern age the concept of a blade bearing a message stuck to a doorway is positively medieval."

Did he just call me old fashioned? My ire, rarely ever far from the surface bubbled up.

"Well some things are best left to tradition, like say, making an introduction through the front door? Scaling walls just doesn't carry the weight of a formal meeting." Bite that whitey.

He quirked his lips in a morbid parody of a smile "And yet you have prepared a welcome." He gestured vaguely to the tea set.

I took his words as a sort of truce. I have lived with men long enough to recognize it.

"And you assume that just because I advocate tradition, I practice it? I lived in a house full of men for a year without any chaperone, explain to me how that qualifies as traditional?"

In a smooth practiced motion, I poured the tea into the second cup. "Join me or don't, it is up to you, but I will not spend the evening talking to my garden."

I have learnt a thing or two from raising my brood of volatile men. In high stress situations it was best to give two possible options and hope that the man in question took the right one.

He didn't disappoint me.

He came closer and I was grateful to note that despite this haggard appearance he looked neat and well cared for, if a bit strange, in is black western suite.

I might not have resisted my still overpowering need to mother if he was any other way.

"Would you invite a tiger into your garden Kaoru-san, even one who covered in blood?" He asked, there were flickers of something dark and shadowy in his eyes that hinted at the voices of his own ghosts.

I read into his words, as I knew I was meant to. He was looking for judgment, seeking out those who would bring down an axe on his head out of pure anger for his actions.

I held up the poured cup towards him in an offering.

He was looking in the wrong place.

I would try my best not to judge him. I perhaps was more practiced than most in the art of non judgment. I was after all married to the greatest assassin in Japan's history, raised a yakuza pick pocket, housed a brawling street fighter and befriended an opium doctor.

I wonder what my associations implied about me.

"I wouldn't invite a tiger into my house, it wouldn't need an invitation. If it came, I would let it stay, if it went, I would let it go. Nature has her way Enishi, to try and accept or reject it would be idiotic. Though I would prefer it if said tiger would not leave dead bodies at my front door. It would be a little hard to explain such things to my students."

He came closer but did not sit. Instead he stood before me and stared at me with an intensity that I found unnerving.

The silence built up. In my head I could see him weigh my words, measure them, look through them, stab them with his katana. I was not certain whether I should have been comforted or worried by the wild fancies that I seemed to be able to take these days.

Speaking of wild fancies, Megumi, in all her ghostly glory decided to grace me with her presence at that moment. Fading to life, it the usual way I knew I was in for grief the moment she raised a brow.

The fact that Yahiko as well decided to share his presence with a face that suggested that he was sucking at a rotten lemon didn't make me feel much better about him either.

"Well tanuki, you certainly get yourself into royal messes don't you?" Seated beside me looking as though she was born there, Megumi was cool, calm and collected and I was infinitely grateful for that, if nothing else.

She scoffed. "As though you would survive a day without bumbling through your life if it weren't for me."

"Tell blondie here to kiss a hot frying pan and get his creepy butt out of my house!" Yahiko finished off with a rude gesture towards Enishi. I wondered as to where he learnt that one.

I remained wisely silent.

Enishi's eyes narrowed and to my great horror he glanced at what should seem, to him, like an empty spot beside me. My ghosts were after all, for my eyes only.

He blinked once and it seemed like a great burden slid off his shoulders.

He straightened up and gave a light sigh. He reached out and unfurled his hand palm up right below my offered cup. I had nearly forgotten that I carried it. I felt the slight upward push of pressure from his palm and dutifully released the cup into his care.

It was a transaction with absolutely no physical contact except for our locked gaze. It was an intimate moment that made me want to shiver.

"Flirting now tanuki?" Megumi asked, flicking a sharp gaze at me.

I froze at the accusation.

Flirting? Me? With HIM? Whatever Megumi was looking at, it certainly was not reality.

My sudden hesitation must have been displayed on my face because Enishi reacted.

His face didn't really change in expression, but there was a flicker of something that could have been hurt in his eyes that I would have missed if I was not looking.

I will not go into why I was looking for hurt in the eyes of my ex-kidnapper. I myself didn't know the answer.

My action seemed to cement something within him. Something I was not sure I liked to see.

He nodded imperceptibly as though agreeing with some inner monolog and promptly downed the tea. Emptying the cup in one gulp.

"Thank you for the tea and the conversation." He handed me the tea cup and in not so many words seemed to fold into himself.

"What?" I asked

His face was empty there was nothing there, his voice was a hollow twang. I suddenly felt very, very dirty.

I should be stabbed to death with a Katana.

I grasp the tea cup that he handed to me more from years and years of social etiquette beaten into my head by a Dr. Gensai that any actual conscious decision.

"This evening is interesting but unsuitable. I will come again another time, if its acceptable."

"Now you've done it Tanuki. One look from you and you manage to make even a qualified psychopath run." Megumi stated, not even bothering to look at me. There was an odd arch or her brow that said he mind was chewing on something serious.

"Joy, the white ape finally got the hint!" Yahiko cheered from his corner. I wish his ghost this evening was a little more mature that the 14 year old version of him.

"You don't have to leave or anything I assure you!" Please, please don't go. I knew myself well enough to know that if he went on my account, sleep would be long in coming.

"Despite what the rest of the country thinks, I am not fond of seeing terror in the eyes of those whom I meet. Especially if its over tea." Those were bitter, bitter words.

Ok Kaoru, you dug yourself into this mess, grab a shovel and dig your way out!

"You make the assumption that you are the cause of the terror! I assure you it is not so. I have no qualms about you. I cannot admit that I can trust you fully but I do not go back on my word, I said that you are invited and I am going to stick with it."

He spun so quickly that the wind that it created hit me straight in the face. His eyes were no longer completely sane.

"You dare tempt fate! Didn't you ever ask where did those bruises on your throat come from? I nearly killed you with my own two hands. Your death was part of my great plan. So do not think that can estimate my thoughts and actions. You cannot."

"Bastard!" Yahiko attempted to lunge at Enishi, I assume to 'ghost' him to death but Megumi wisely caught a hold of his gi and refused to let go. The swears that the young man released would have made Sano proud.

I recognized guilt when I saw it. And this man had guilt written all over him. Now we were getting somewhere.

"And yet you didn't. I'm still here, I'm not dead and I'm not stupid enough not to notice a sore throat and not link it to your hands. And I am STILL here WITH my stupid tea waiting for you to sit the hell down and talk. You are by far not the worst killer I've met nor are you the first one that has tried to put an end to me."

He eyed me once again. Then red flush that came with his anger faded slowly away and he shook his head and blinked a few times.

"You tempt fate Kamiya."

"So do you Yukishiro."

For a moment we stare at each other in a silent battle for dominance. I was no woman he could push around.

He surprised me by looking away first.

"Knowing me, knowing what I have done and what I could do would you agree with a request, from me of all people?"

"It would depend on the request." I knew, that so long as it didn't involve blood or something ridiculously stupid I would probably agree with it anyway. But it was best to not come off as a fool.

Megumi, who was silent throughout my previous communication, quirked up once again.

"Ooh Kaoru, acting coy as well! Dear you will be sleeping with the enemy soon enough!"

It was only with the training of years and years of meditation that I didn't react.

"Shaddup fox. You are talking shit. Kaoru aint that stupid. And she defiantly aint into nut jobs either!" Yahiko sulked, finally out of curses to hurl at Enishi and his lineage.

"Would you train me?"

Ok, a minute of pause for that one. Of all the requests, I would not have guessed that this would be one of them.

"W-what?" humm, stable pitch but I could have done without the stuttering. Not a bad job for someone who's brain has taken a holiday.

Train? Train Enishi? The man who beat Kenshin to an inch of his life. Why in the name of all lords would he want me to teach him anything? I should be asking him to train me his way of the sword.

"Ask him why." Megumi shifted beside me. Her eyes were firm and knowledgeable. She was all business and now she was observing Enishi with a doctor's gaze.

I decided, not to my surprise to go along with Megumi's idea. The woman was truly intimidating at this point and pissing her off further could do me no earthly good.

"Why?"

Simple, think simple words Kaoru.

That flicker of hope that died before briefly came back into his eyes. Perhaps he was expecting an out and out rejection

If this were anyone else I would. My Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is my family heritage. It has, many times in the past been linked to blatant bloodshed, it was an insult to the school and myself. I should, by rights not chance it. But I simply could not reject him without an actual evaluation of his merits.

His was a soul that was haunted by ghosts of a past he cannot re-create.

I knew how that felt. I lived with these ghosts everyday. I wouldn't want to be rejected for my desire, and I could not reject him for his.

"Because she still does not smile."

I have no need to ask who 'she' was.

Tomoe.

Enishi, in his consuming quest for revenge, performed acts of destruction to get a smile from the ghost of his sister.

He never got it that and it is clear that it still eludes him.

Yahiko bristled. "Well just caus Tomoe isn't smiling at him doesen't mean he can use you as a replacement! What he wants you to teach him your sword style and get** it** to smile at him? Nutter, the bastard's a nutter!"

"Learning to fight all over again will not make her any happier. Yes my style doesn't condone death or bloodshed but there are now plenty of styles out there that teach the same thing. Why pick this one." I state sharply. I dislike the idea that I could be the proxy of someone else's redemption. I had that illusion once, and its failure still burned.

"I know fighting won't make her happy. But it is the only option that I have."

Not too strange a thought. He was after all, the head of the Chinese underground. I suppose he needed to enforce his power through force, if not death altogether. Weakness would be the end of him.

"Then why me?"

"Because you don't smile either."

It took me a moment to grasp the full impact of what he meant. Tomoe was Enishi's judge and jury when it came to his conscience. Her smile was approval and the lack of it her disdain.

He didn't see me smile?

Was I also one of his judges?

"I smile everyday, thank you very much!" I answered. And it was true. Every morning I greeted my students with a sunny smile before giving them grief to the edges of their endurance.

He raised a skeptic eyebrow.

"I have a theory that women learn the art of a false smile before they learn how to walk. You do not smile, you twitch your lips and people nod. It is about as real as a dream."

"Busted." Yahiko muttered, still glaring at Enishi.

Darn it, the boy was supposed to be on my side! Not on whichever side that suited him!

"And you would know this how?"

"The same way you knew I was coming."

I gave him that much. I was not going to say a thing about what happened last night. And apparently he was not going to mention his sources as well. We were at an impasse.

"I take my leave this evening." He vaguely to the direction of my front gate, "I will send a messenger tomorrow at about mid day. Give him your answer."

He turned once again and made his way to the shadows of the trees. The idiot didn't even use the front door to get out.

Yahiko once again had choice statements about his intelligence.

I was suddenly very, very annoyed.

I was not going to be bullied into anything. If he wanted to repent for his sins, oh I was going to MAKE him earn it.

"Tomorrow, after sunset. Meet me in the dojo and bring your own hakama and gi. I am going to be as hard as humanly possible on you so be prepared for it."

"THE HELL?!" Yahiko shrieked.

From the back, it was hard to see if he was smiling or not, but something about Enishi's stance seemed to shriek out his amusement.

He nodded once and continued on his merry way into the shadows and presumably over my garden wall.

I felt as though I was duped by a very efficient snake charmer.

Megumi hummed under her breath. "Unless I'm mistaken Tanuki, things are just about to get very, very interesting around here."

Interesting.

Unless I'm mistaken, isn't 'interesting' a part of a curse? 1

I doubt I needed any more curses resting on my head.

* * *

1- May you live in interesting times.

Thank you for the reviews!

Remember reviews are my inspiration.

More reviews-faster update.

Thank you for your trouble!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Click my heals and wish RK is mine

Disclaimer: Click my heals and wish RK is mine. RK is mine. RK is mine.

Computer: Request denied.

Me: Damn.

A/N: A big thank you to **Dark-Valar, Stubbs101, Fickle Luck** and **gabyhyatt** for your reviews for the last chapter. I can honestly say that if it for the fact that I knew that there would be those who had an interest in what was going on in my story, this chapter would have never have been finished. I apologize for the delay in updates, the horrible reality of holding a part time job and doing a full course in university as well as deal clingy parents takes a lot out of my creative juices. I also suspect my muses have gone on strike. (the fickle bastards that they are). I promise that the next chapter for this series will be up by this time next week.

As for gabyhyatt's question: Hehe well…I cant say that they are ghosts exactly…but they are…of interest to the story. And what they are exactly is significant.

Quote of the day: _Reality should just stop bothering me and go bug someone who cares._

* * *

The Insanity of Us

Chapter 4: The Gnome King Arrives!

Basic training was no cakewalk.

In my many years as a teacher, I have seen many types of students walk through my dojo doors. And a few walk right back out again.

In my infinite spare time I categorized these students as I saw fit. Thus proving once again that I truly needed a hobby that had nothing to do with my bokken.

Steady rivers, were students who attended classes religiously and learnt at a pace all their own. Our Yahiko, dedicated and stubborn to all hell, fell here.

Flickering flames, were students who had passion at the beginning but burn out soon and loose interest fast. Most of my early leavers were of this kin. Good riddance.

Windboys, as I liked to call them, were fast learners and dedicated students, they also generally lacked a certain regard for their own safety and good sense. Kijin and Take-kun, were tragically of this kind.

However, after observing my latest student, I discovered a new category that could only describe the white haired menace.

Enishi was a mule.

Had potential and talent, but never applied himself unless he was dragged through it. Even if he moved of his own volition it was random shifts that accomplished nothing in the end.

He gave me grey hairs.

One would comment that I had it coming when I took on this position.

I would agree.

You do not simply invite a seasoned killer into your dojo and expect him to behave like a normal, first time, student.

"You are not dressed for training." I pointed out with a hand on my hip and an arch of my brow. My disapproval floated off me in waves.

He was **not** in a hakama and gi.

The moment he walked in, the words '_western suits hide muscles a lot better than Japanese robes' _streaked naked through my mind_. _This was of course followed shortly by a firm mental slap.

And another and mental slap for good measure.

Ok I had underestimated his physical health, he was perhaps not as emaciated as I expected. I could admit that. But it was his stubbornness that I had forgotten.

He shrugged. "I never trained in Japan, this is what I am used to." The words 'deal with it' did not have to be said to be understood.

'This' as he so eloquently put it, was a dark pair of pants that ended about a few inches above his ankles. Bandages covered the lower half of his torso and he had a black headband that kept his stark, white hair from his face.

He was half naked!

The dull lighting provided by several hanging lanterns in the dojo only made his skin seem to glow with a dark woody color. I suspected that it would prove to be very distracting if he continued his training in such a state.

I was his teacher damn it and I didn't want to **see** anything!

"You were a married woman. I doubt that seeing just this much would give you palpitations. Take it as a compliment. I respect your professionalism enough to trust that I will not be molested in your presence." He lips curled up in what could be described as a wry smirk and there was a flicker of challenge in his eyes.

Argh! How that man aggravated me!

I have decided to adopt a policy of polite annoyance when it came to Enishi. Getting riled up was what got me into this mess. I was not going to be 'played' into ending up deeper in that field.

" I'm sorry, molestation is generally a male prerogative, if you like I can arrange my head student to attend and ensure that you are suitable harassed?"

Points to the Kao-chan!

"No, I don't think that would be necessary. I am harassed enough as it is." He shrugged and shoved a hand into his pocket. "Are we going to continue along this entertaining track or are we going to train?"

From here onwards, the path was, perhaps one that was slightly more familiar to me. I was a woman, and naturally being the more 'delicate' as defined by Japanese culture, I was hardly ever respected at first sight when it came to training.

I beat respect into the thick heads of my students, I was certain that I could do it for Enishi as well.

It was either that or die trying.

"We begin this class with stretching."

And so his training began.

Since he was no novice swordsmen, I wasted little time with preliminaries with him. After the stretching, we moved to swings and stances.

He appeared daily, coming two hours after sunset and leaving an hour or two after mid night. He still insisted on jumping my fence rather than using the front gate despite the fact that I left it open especially for him.

His outfit remained the same changing only from black to dark brown alternately, despite my best efforts to force him into the more traditional uniform.

He was as rock headed as ever.

Training Enishi was a tiring process a tiring process but one I found I enjoyed.

Despite his rebellious streak, Enishi turned out to be a very apt student. He learned kata moves and strokes with and enviable ease. His stance was always on point on the first try and he was able to execute, even complicated moves, by simply observing me perform them.

My only real issue with him was the fact that he was tragically temperamental. Enishi moved like a dancer when he wished and a beast when he didn't. His moods were displayed in his movement for the trained eye to observe and note. His Katas were technically flawless but at times seemed to lack a drive, a passion that made it seem like one of those horrid western puppet shows.

He also could never take anything at face value.

"It is pointless to bend my knee when I want to strike! All I do is waste momentum!" He glared, after I shouted at him for about the hundredth time about his knees.

"Yes, but you are prepared to compensate for the blow that comes afterward, so bend your bloody knees!"

"I am fighting with a bamboo sword. If there is a second blow, no amount of knee bending will change the fact that metal goes through bamboo and easier still through flesh." He grumbled.

I noted, soon after he entered the dojo, that he was in one of his more testy moods. The man honestly had mood swings that were at times worse than some of the women I knew.

"Yeah, he probably killed his favorite whore or something." Sano muttered, staring adamantly at the floor of the dojo from his lean near the main doors.

Despite my best efforts, my ghosts continued to haunt us as we trained, and made it a point to share their disapproval at every turn. Sano was more docile than Yahiko when it came to interruptions, but not by much. Megumi proved to be most distracting with her various comments about my connection (or temporary lack there of) with the male bits of Enishi's anatomy.

One would think that after spending 3 weeks being ignored, that even ghosts would stop their stupid stalking and find something better to do.

Sano arched a brow and gave me a feral grin.

"Missy, you're training a psycho, by yourself, using real weapons. Your level of stupid just beat the crap out of mine. The best thing for me to be doing right now is stand here and keeping an eye on the bastard. We wouldn't want him to think that you aren't spoken for, he might get some '_ideas_'." Sano's fishbone wiggled in the trademark sign of his glee.

Lord not another one!

I have honestly had it up to my neck with this crap! I was not, am not and never would be interested in having a relationship (physical or otherwise) with Enishi.

The man was, after all, technically my brother-in-law, in a way.

'Ideas' would thus be out of the question.

Ok, not the best of defenses but it was what I had at the moment and that's what I would stick with.

Sano snorted and promptly scratched his chin before sliding down to the floor into a graceless heap.

"Ya' know, when she came here to ask for your help, I don't think this is what she meant. Watching you prance about like he is just a run of the mill brat for your training is not easy for me. To top this off no matter what I say about it, you aren't gonna listen to it anyway!"

I ignored him as best I could and continued to focus on Enishi's movements, which were once again choppy.

"I thought being cupid was degrading enough! But no! She now wants me to be a freaking babysitter as well! Tell ya' what missy, if you ever needed a babysitter, it was way before I met you. If you were a kid I think we might have had a chance to get through to ya'. Now you need a personal sumo coach to get anything through that thick scull of yours!"

_**Cupid?**_

_**Sano was meant to be cupid? **_

"Cupid?" For a moment I wondered if I had actually voiced my thought when the realization that the voice was just a little too gruff to be my own hit me like a train.

"What the hell are you thinking about cupid now for?" Enishi obviously finished his routine in time to hear what I assumed I must have whispered out in shock, and now he stared at me like I was attempting to catch a catfish with my mouth.

My fortune does indeed exceed itself in its cruel humor.

Er..how was I suppose to answer that? 'Sorry my invisible friend sitting in the corner just informed me that he was playing the role of a diaper wearing baby who was in charge of romance'?

Yup, that sounded plenty sane alright.

"You must be hearing things Enishi, I have no idea what you are talking about let alone what this 'ku-pi-do' is."

When in doubt, deny. It helped that most people assumed that I had limited understanding of western concepts.

"Ha! I knew you were listening!" Sano cheered, despite my best intentions to ignore him, it was proving to be impossibly difficult.

Enishi frowned at me, before turning away. "You insult my hearing as well as both of our intelligence."

Sano nearly giggled. "Busted! I knew those little 'trips' you and Misao made to Yokohama were for more than visiting her 'friend'."

Those 'trips' as Sano called them, generally involved Misao and I dressing up as boys and traipsing through the shadier bits of town in search of adventure. Oh we found it alright, several times in fact. I believe Misao still carries the scar for it.

Sailors were a most amusing (and dangerous) source of information.

"I assure you, I have no idea what you are talking about." I replied, with the utmost faith in my big mouth to keep me out of the frying pan. "And stop trying to change the subject, you did your kata improperly again and I have had it up to the roof with you."

He turned and looked me in the eye with an eerie and unholy gleam in them. . "Very well, _sensei_." I knew that at some point, this conversation was going to come back and bite me in the ass. For now though, I was sure I would survive.

And so the class continued as usual.

In the early hours of the next day, after my morning rituals and just before I opened my front gate, my ki sense picked up an unknown presence beyond the wood barer.

Though not as developed as Aoshi or Kenshin, my ki sense was nothing to cough at either. Carefully I probed the presence, like a toddler holding using a large wooden spoon to swat a fly. It was an ungraceful, uncoordinated process, but it was effective.

Ki senses were not like sight or hearing. With hearing, something must fall before you hear the 'bang'. With ki senses you hear the 'bang' and then you must interoperate the source. With it you felt things that had no attributing factor.

This particular source was placid, if a little irritated.

It appeared to contain no threat, though that could either mean that whoever was out there was very, very good at ki manipulation and wanted to lull me into a relaxed state and then attack.

Not a rare tactic.

Or on the other hand, this situation could be just as it seems, some poor idiot got assigned to send me a message to me at the butt crack of dawn and was probably just waiting for me to show.

Only one real way to find out.

With a firm grip on my training sword, I shoved open the front gate prepared for a good fight (just in case)

I was met with the scruffiest looking animal I have ever seen.

It was about waist high with brown fur on top of it, and the bits of skin that was not covered in matted fur were a splotchy brown that indicated prolonged exposure to mud grime and all forms of dirt.

When it shifted its stance and revealed lanky limbs from the brown stained clothing I developed a very different understanding of it.

This creature was apparently supposed to be a child.

"You Kamiaya?" It asked.

The voice was low nearly a low rumble that had a unique accent that was definitely not fully Japanese.

It was only with an effort that I stopped myself from the urge to grab him (I assume it was a him) and rush to the nearest body of water, and scrub till I saw some actual skin.

"Who asks?" I answered warily. In this day and age, it never hurts to question. Being aware tends to keep you alive and un-murdered.

The child sniffed and then brushed a grubby hand under his nose, smudging more dirt on dirt caked skin. His youthful face, what little could be perceived of it beyond the shaggy matted hair, crumbled into an annoyed frown.

"I's gotta message fr'm Atena fer a Kamiaya. If you aint she, where'd I find 'er?" The kid mumbled, before tucking a hand into the many layered folds of mud stained clothing that he wore and pulled out a surprisingly pristine looking envelope.

I cocked my head and tried to place the name 'Athena'. It was familiar for some strange reason, but I doubt I knew anyone by the name. My self preservation balked at the idea of accepting communication from an unknown source.

My curiosity promptly told it to shut up.

"Kamiaya-san lives here but is not home at the moment, if you like, I could pass it on to her for you." The little deception appeased my self preservation instincts and allowed me to observe the boy with a little more detail. If I was a champion at anything, it was at beating myself at my own game.

He seemed to weigh the idea for some time.

"S'oright I guess." He said before thrusting up the letter to me.

Gingerly I grasped the edge of the offered letter and tugged it into my hands. I noted that despite the dirt on him, his nails were suspiciously unbitten and the edges of them clean.

"I will make certain that Ms Kamiaya receives this letter as soon as possible. If she asks, might I let her know the name of the messenger as well?" My curiosity was truly on a roll. I was beginning to develop some _suspicions_.

The child cocked his head, drawing attention for the first time to the fact that his eyes were a deep shade of green.

The grime on him seemed to give an illusion of overall brown coloring which I why I simply assumed his eyes would be the same as well.

"Don't see tha' point, but ya' can call meh' Brat."

Original name. Or was it a title?

"Very well Brat, I shall pass this message on to her as soon as she comes back."

The child snorted.

"You do that." He raised a brow at me and I had a feeling that my little ruse might not have been as effective as I hoped. After giving me a slight nod, he calmly spun around and begun the slow trek back to the heartland of the city whilst whistling a tune. An altogether, perfect fairytale ending.

Except this fairytale left me with an unopened letter from 'Athena' and a strange taste in my mouth.

Damn perceptive children! How was I supposed to deal with observant people after spending years with utter bricks!

Door stabbed daggers and letters from the gnome king himself. My stars must really be out of alignment.

Speaking of bricks.

There was a sharp prickle of awareness. A feeling that brought me back to a time and place where answering the door could mean death and every presence you met could be your downfall.

There was an agitated, nearly angry Ki rushing towards me at what was a run. I had no time to think about it. It was instinct alone.

I swung my training blade upwards, one handed, to strike the new, large, presence that appeared before me. If fully arched, it would hit the throat of a fully grown man, put pressure on the blood flow and at the very least cause him to pass out.

I hold myself back from a full strike just in the nick of time.

"So are ya gonna' stare at the darn thing or open it?"

I glance up and meet the gaze of horrifyingly familiar soft eyes.

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Thank you for the reviews!

Remember reviews are my inspiration.

Thank you for your trouble!

Akasha.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **

Me: Mirror Mirror on the wall, Who is the Samurai X-est of them all?

Mirror: The query is invalid. Samurai-X does not belong to you. Request denied.

Me: HEY! Did you talk to computer?

Mirror: Irrelevant.

Me: I KNEW IT!

**A/N **A big thank you goes out to JMai, midori konbu X 3 (thanks for that by the way), and Stubbs101 who provide inspiration for me and by extension, the reason why I actually kept my promise about the deadline. It seems that I am loosing the interest of a great part of my readers as there is a decline in reader hits as well as reviews. I will not hold my stories ransom or any such thing (for Fickle luck), but please remember I write to learn how to do it better. I need your help for this to happen. So please review if you feel that I should either improve this story, give it up altogether or just to show your appreciation. Your time and effort are very very much appreciated.

**Quote for the day: **Life, is like one big polka dotted orange, totally random.

**

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**The Insanity of Us**

**Chapter 5: Always kill the messenger**

I glanced up and met the gaze of familiar soft eyes.

"Take-kun! What are you doing here so early?" I was jumpy and virtually shaking with battle rage.

I must be getting dull in my old age.

Clearly dressed for training, Take sleepily scratched at his chin and then grunted in the distinct way of agitated men.

All this while at the tip of a weapon. Take-kun was as laid back as ever.

Slowly, I lowered my training sword.

Kenshin wasn't the only one with bad memories tied with instinctive battle stance. I was alone for a long time before he came along. For some reason men did not like the idea that a woman could live fine without them. It was not a good mindset to be in.

"Well sensei, I was wondering why my teacher was having dark bags under her eyes despite the fact that she ends classes relatively early, for her standards at least. So being thoughtful and nice student that I am, I brought her breakfast." Take lifted a large wrapped bentou box as If to punctuate his point.

What I heard was.

"_You look tired. You're up to something, I'll bribe you with my mothers cooking and you are going to tell me about it whether you want to or not." _

Take was refreshingly easy to read and a first class worry wart.

"Ehh, you didn't have to?" I replied, slightly less eloquently than I would have liked.

What he should have heard was,

"_Mind your own business. I am fine." _

He cocked and eyebrow and eyed my bokken sharply.

Ok…a little edgy, but still fine.

"Really sensei, it was no trouble at all. Seeing as you went through all that trouble to greet me and everything. I am certain you hardly had any sleep last night at all thanks to your visitors. So cooking when you're not at 100, especially for you, is very bad, no?"

**Visitors! **

I was certain my stomach dropped straight to my toes.

Shit.

He knew.

"What are you talking about Takemoto?" I asked sharply.

Please please please take the hint.

"Someone comes over every evening and uses the dojo. Despite the fact that I wish it was some torrid romance that would make my gossip that much more interesting, I know you too well to know that's not it." Take-kun added.

"So Kamiaya-sensei, it is either you're forced to train someone, which is impossible, or you are training someone who should not be around in the daylight hours."

It was futile, I knew, but I still had to try.

"It is none of your concern Takemoto. Drop it."

"No."

And that ladies and gentlemen, was that.

Annoyed I ran my fingers through my bangs. "Takemoto do not get entangled in things that are not your concern. I am fine. This is fine. It is best you forget everything."

He shrugged his massive form and gave me a grin.

"Sorry sensei, but I made a promise to a certain warthog that I would look out for his teacher. He would give my balls to Tsubame-san as earrings if I didn't pull through."

Yahiko you pain in the ass.

"FINE! But you better have bloody brought your mom's special miso or you are going to suffer for it."

If he wanted to know so badly, he could know. Plus, it saved me from writing a long explanatory letter to my son and student if Enishi suddenly went batshit crazy and kills me one evening.

Take-kun could act as the sacrificial messenger.

"When have I not sensei?"

Yes. Always kill the messenger.

It probably was the shortest meal in the history of Takemoto's life. He spent most of it with his mouth wide open.

Much to my stomach's benefit.

"ENISHI?" He shrieked.

"Yup." It was all I could manage between mouthfuls. Take-kun's mother was simply a goddess in the kitchen. Her miso was heavenly.

"You are training the head of the Shanghai underground?" Take-kun really should not talk at that pitch. It could not be good for his throat.

"Bingo." How did Takemoto-san get the tofu so soft? I never could do that with it.

"And he comes here every evening, to train?"

I nodded, savoring the crisp taste of the fried fish without wasting chewing time with words.

"Holy heaping hounds of HELL. SENSEI! Why the hell did you agree to it?"

"Because he asked." The world seemed like such a brighter place when you were chocked full of excellent cooking.

"And you just said YES?"

Ok, good food or not, now I was getting annoyed.

"Of course I did Take-kun. I fell dramatically into his arms and begged him to take me right there on the dojo floor. The training is all just foreplay. The main aim of the evening is hot role-playing sex." If he was dumb enough to believe it that was his issue, not mine.

As it was the boy looked a little green.

"You have got to be joking." He muttered, eyes wide.

"What do you think?" From the corner of my eye I caught sight of the first few students marching through the dojo gate.

It was time to get with the torture…err I meant training.

"We are going to talk about this later sensei."

"That is only if you can move Take-kun." I answered sweetly with an evil gleam in my eye.

Take-kun took the opportunity to make like a sheet and loose all color.

I couldn't let him get airs now could I? All this questioning might allow a student to feel like he has one foot beyond his master. It is my god given duty to correct that misconception as his loving and vaguely violent sensei.

It did the soul good to educate the youth.

After a good scrub in the bath and a weak attempt at dinner later that same evening, I found myself sitting at my dining table contemplating an envelope.

"Its just a peace of paper, not likely its going to bite you."

Take-kun tragically could not be with here due to an injury sustained in training. Megumi decided to take his place in my universal stream of annoyance.

Fate can at times be both merciful and infinitely cruel.

Paper didn't need to bite to cause trouble. Megumi should be well wise to remember her own issues with it when she found a little slip of paper some romancing girl left behind in Sano's careless hold.

Megumi was livid for days.

"I most certainly was not!"

She nearly brained him repeatedly with a frying pan.

"It was an accident! He was there at the wrong time and I was having a bad day. Being a doctor is trying even for the best of us."

She then sic-ed her stalker-fiancé-wannabe on Sano. The man was 200 pounds and a noted sumo wrestler.

"Sano agreed to deal with the situation! It is not my fault that he can hardly hold his own against one measly fighter."

The sumo wrestler brought his friends for the battle.

"Only two of them!"

Both of which were very, very big.

"FINE! I was slightly upset! But it did not cloud my judgment for a moment. The man needed to learn that he could not play with the affections of some poor scruffy looking fish wife without repercussions." Megumi stated brandishing her finger angrily at me.

Victory was so very-very sweet.

Dragging my mind away from pleasant thoughts of my fist victory over the fox, I schooled my mind to ponder the issue at hand.

Athena?

I knew that name. I knew, I knew that name. I just didn't know who, or what it was.

Damn loss of memory due to old age.

"You're only as old as you look. You are probably secretly pushing a hundred."

I most certainly did not look a hundred! Damn the fox to hell!

"Damn me as you like." Megumi continued, "Right now there was only one real way to find out who this Athena character is, and what it wants from you. Open the letter."

But for some reason I simply couldn't bring myself to do it.

I opened up a can of worms when I received my first 'message'. Granted that there was more metal than paper for that one. I found myself still reeling sometimes from _that_ little box of chaos. Could I really contemplate opening another potential hell?

"Most certainly." Megumi gracefully crossed her arms and gave me a hard stare from across the table.

But with that in mind, even if I didn't open it, would I seriously stall whatever evil that was waiting to befall me? Or would it still arrive, only with me unaware?

No.

My father didn't raise a coward.

Lord help me I was not going to allow myself to become a coward.

"There is hope for you yet tanuki." Megumi added with a small smile.

Without giving myself time to think, I grabbed the envelope and promptly ripped it open. Tugging out the one sheet of paper in there I steel myself before reading it.

_Kaoru-CHAN!_

_I am sorry if this comes as a bit of a shock K, but hell in a handbasket has been after me for more than a year and, well writing to friends when the Oniwabanshu is after your ass just doesn't seem to be the smart thing to do. I will be coming down to your place this evening. We so have to talk and I am not taking 'tea making 101' as a valid topic. Let me give you a hint. He is white haired, and a total psycho. _

_PS: You have been a very naughty girl! wink _

_M.M _

No way.

No freaking way.

As the idea pounded into my head I vaguely recall why I recognized the word 'Athena'.

The dark haired sailor, the one that tried to carry Misao off like a sack of potatoes, sang a song about Athena. I remember her being a Greek goddess of the sea or some such. I also remember that Misao's eyes were so wide when she heard about the goddess that her eyeballs nearly up and vacated her face.

"So that's where you were whenever you both went to Kyoto! I always knew you two were up to mischief!" Sano being the mischief maker himself would of course recognize its signs.

That made 2 ghosts on one evening alone…things were not looking up.

Suddenly appearing seated dangerously near Megumi, Sano hunched over the table and rested his face on his fist and grinned like the devil himself.

Megumi, never far a way from the limelight decided to add her two cents in.

"Does this have anything to do with that horrid song Misao attempts to recite when we go for our walks?"

Tragically yes. Misao sang bits of the song whenever we were near a body of water ever since hearing it. She only remembered half the tune and even less of the words but went along with it anyway.

And people thought I was the strange one.

HOLD UP!

Before I get caught up in the fact that that sailor proposed marriage to Misao, bits of this letter began to tug at my mind.

'_but hell in a handbasket has been after me for more than a year'_

After her? That didn't make any sense. Misao having hell, in one form or another, chase after her braid was no new phenomenon. She had a well earned reputation as a hell raiser. But it was the time difference that spiked worry in me. Misao has not had any contact with me for a couple of moths at most right? I drag my brain through my memories and come up with the date of our last communication and promptly go blank.

2 years.

It has been more than 2 years since I last heard form Misao.

My mind simply revolted at the idea.

"Wait for it…" Sano dully muttered, as both he and Megumi stared at my increasing panic.

In a bid to confirm or deny this time gap, with a swift grab of the oil lantern, I stood up and rushed to my room to go through my keepsake box. It had a place of honor on my dresser with its black lacquered shine and its wave engravings. It was my fathers engagement gift to my mother and I have always treasured it.

It also contained all of my letters.

Rustling through the depressingly small pile, the distress I had promptly grew up and gave birth to a pair of twins.

Surely one must realize the gap of time between communication? You must wake up one day wondering what happened to so-and-so.

But there it was, her last letter. I smiled as I brushed my fingers against the slightly crumpled paper.

The date confirmed.

It was right after Misao's little fiasco in Kyoto that involved no less than 3 men and a collective 25 broken bones. She complained long and loud how Aoshi and Okina were acting jail guards and refusing to let her go out and frisk the general population. Males being ones that she 'frisked'.

I remember thinking that the letter was rather….vague. Misao was never one to spare the gory details about her adventures, especially if they could, at a certain interpretation be considered funny.

But this one seemed to go through great lengths not to disclose what happened. I Remember thinking it was strange and I made a mental not to enquire for details before my real life smothered that mental note out of existence.

Looking back at the new letter, other bits of it caused my blood pressure to drop.

_writing to friends when the Oniwabanshu is after your ass_

Why in the name of my gardens radishes would the oniwabashu be after Misao? Misao was the head of that particular organization and nothing short of death could cause them to have even the slightest issue with her. The more I looked at it the stranger this letter seemed.

_I will be coming down to your place this evening._

This evening?

As in _TONIGHT_?

As in RIGHT NOW!

Shit.

Enishi was due any minute now.

Shit Shit!

And Misao describing him as a 'white haired psycho' didn't indicate any fondness from her side.

SHITSHITSHIT!

There goes another box of chaos.

I had to get my ass to the dojo. Enishi would appear there and Misao, assuming still bore a vague idea of manners, would knock before entering my house. If I could just run interference between the both of them, things might not explode.

I'd just have to kick Enishi out for today, and keep him out. The keeping him out bit, I suspect would be the bigger endeavor.

Dumping all the letters unceremoniously back into the box I hastily got up and prepaired for a hell chased sprint to the dojo for phase one of 'Operation Evict Blondie'.

Fate, the horrid bitch that she was, seemed to have other plans.

"Oh Kauruuuuuuuuuu. Where areeeeee yoooooooo?"

The voice was eerie. Vaguely like a voice from beneath the sakura tree from not so long ago. Light an airy, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand to attention.

Stupid supernatural disturbances! I had no time for ghosts! I had some very real bloodshed to stop.

I couldn't let myself get terrified. I was alone in my very large, very dark house and was apparently being stalked by half the supernatural community of Japan.

A girl in such a position didn't have the comfort of being afraid.

So I got angry.

Rushing to my futon, I groped blindly under it till I grabbed the smooth handle of my very best friend.

A bokken was the best thing in the world right now.

With a firm grip on my wooden sword I prepared myself to storm against a probably dead and more than likely creepy advisory.

My sword probably wouldn't do a thing to it, but I doubt exorcists were available from the temple at this time of night. You had to work with what you had.

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for a monumental act of stupidity.

Leaving behind my glowing lantern, I snuck out of my room.

In the dark.

To face a ghost.

With an oversized toothpick.

An interesting life was the least of my curses.

Sticking to the edges of my hallway where the shadows were thickest, I swiftly contemplated having a change of uniform for the Kamiya Kassin Ryu to something closer to black. White hid hardly anything in the shadows.

I swiftly moved, as best I could towards the dining area. It was the closest point to the front gate as well as the dojo. The dojo was as good a place as any to begin.

From my darkened corner, I managed to catch a glimpse of 'a hooded figure hunched over at the dining table poking dully at the bits of the shredded envelope.

A strange position for a ghost.

Which meant that it was not really a ghost.

"No shit Sherlock." Yahiko whispered.

"For the love of fuck don't DO that!" I whisper-shriked. The shadowed form of the spiky haired brat peered creepily from behind my shoulder and his sudden appearance scared the living peanuts from me.

"Kaoru?" The hooded figure shifted up, and its blank shadowed face peered directly at me.

Considering it a lost cause, I looked at Yahiko from the corner of my eye. "I assume it isn't with you."

The boy shook his head. "Nope, I don't even know what _-it-_ is. But it sure as hell isn't one of us."

"Hey Kaoru-Chan! Don't act like a stranger!" In a smooth motion the figure raised a hand and tugged back the hood.

The darkness made little difference to the view other than prove that figure had a head shaped shadow where the head was normally at. Thus proving the grand problem with walking around in the dark.

"Identify yourself!"

It always sounded so confidant when it the words came from the police.

"You are no cop Busu! Don't go around pretending that you are one." Yahiko added, moving from behind me and slowly sneaking his way to the figure.

"Kaoru I told you I was coming! What is with all this stomping around in the dark? Don't tell me you have turned ninja since the last time I saw you. I thought all that creeping around late at night was my thing."

Now that I heard more of it, the voice seemed more and more familiar. A little more raspy than what I was used to, but the intonation was distinct.

"Misao?"

"Bingo! Really Kaoru, Sano used to say that you were high strung, this is one of the few times I agree with him."

Warily, I inch my way to one of my hanging lanterns and light it. The dim glow immediately illuminated the room and I was left blinking away the brightness for a moment.

I turned and met the fact of a friend I have not seen, apparently, in years.

Only to gasp.

The face is, more or less, as I remembered it. Wide blue-green eyes, gracefully curving cheeks, tiny upturned nose and a pair of lips that were nearly always smiling.

That's where the resemblance stopped.

The eyes were hard, lips pressed tightly together, and from the middle of her right eyebrow nearly down the entire curve of cheek was the gruesome slash of a white healed scar.

What shocked me most was the hair, Or lack thereof . Her fringe hung nearly to her nose, casting deep shadows in her eyes in a similar style to a certain brooding double swordsman. The back of her head, where her long braid once hung, was cut nearly brutally short.

The only tribute to it was a long-ish lock of hair braided and beaded, that hung by her right ear, nearly to the middle of her chest.

This woman seemed to be Misao as she would be if she had been some sort of warrior princess.

"MISAO? Kami, what happened to you?" My brain took my tact and went on a lovely holiday to the sea side. Darn thing left behind.

Misao chuckled, and brushed a dark gloved hand against her scared face. "Trust me babe, this is the least of my scars. The sea is a brutal mistress, and those that live upon her, even more so. I can't say I was not expecting such a reception, but the stalking thing was a bit much isn't it?"

At her words I blinked away my shock and actually looked at her.

Her wide eyes were shuttered, displaying no real emotion, but her ki was chaotic and there were dark streaks of fear.

For some reason she expected me to reject her.

Those eyes and the emotions were an aching reenactment of an identical situation played out just weeks ago.

Perhaps Misao and Enishi had more in common right now than ever before.

"Err Busu, that's great and all, but could you say something to get the weasel to calm down, I think she's holding a dagger back here." Yahiko chirped peeking from behind Misao's form where he had gone to investigate her.

And she accused me of being high strung.

I did not know why she feared rejection, most of all from me. But I of all people was not one to supply it.

Looking at her, her scar, her pain, the sheer weariness on her face, I said perhaps the wisest thing I said since the beginning of the whole fiasco.

"Would you like some tea?"

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I will not hold my stories ransom or any such thing (for Fickle luck), but please remember I write to learn how to do it better. I need your help for this to happen. So please review if you feel that I should either improve this story, give it up altogether or just to show your appreciation. Your time and effort are very very much appreciated.

Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

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Disclaimer:

Me: Tis not the rose but the scent-

Computer: Shut up, its not yours no matter how you say it.

Me: 8cry*

A/N Oh my god! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me after taking so long to update. I have been trying my best to make it a weekly thing but real life has just been trying to do its best to kill me, painfully. I dedicate this chapter to JMai (the constant, I LOVE YOU), Stubbs101 (my somewhat motivator/editor), Triste1 (I changed my style a little, set me know if you like it), Midori Konbu (my personal cheering squad), stela, Ari chan, and Illico.

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The Insanity of Us

Chapter 6: "Leave my sakura tree alone you Bastards!"

Looking at her, her scar, her pain, the sheer weariness on her face, I said perhaps the wisest thing I said since the beginning of the whole fiasco.

"Would you like some tea?"

Misao blinked, blinked again, and then frowned. I could see the cogs strain in her brain as they tried to process the offer. She peered at me as though I were some strange new insect. "Tea?" she asked slowly, expecting me to give her more of a hint of what I was trying to say.

"Yes. Green or jasmine if you like, I have both." I answered, equally as slowly. It would be just in line with my current luck if Misao had developed into a paranoid psychopath and the word 'tea' was her trigger for a violent episode. Lord forbid, of course. With my luck, someone up there is probably listening to my ramblings and taking notes on how to harass one Kamiya Kaoru.

"Tea-tea? Like tea that comes in a cup?" I observed the twitchy look come over her face and couldn't help but think that the girl might have spent too much time among spies to see subtle messages in everything. Or perhaps it was just an over exposure to Aoshi. The man could say 'it is rather hot today' and mean, 'the human soul is forever doomed to be a victim of its own greed and thus must be punished by the fickleness of nature'. And yes, I have had that conversation with him.

This current day chat was perhaps the most pointlessly strange one that I have had as of yet (bar any talk with Aoshi). Seeing as my life was currently filled with pointlessly strange items/happenings/ghosts, that was saying a lot.

"Yes tea that comes in a cup. Why, did you think I served tea in a sock?" I was a little harsh, but understand I was juggling a spy with a mysterious past and a known serial killer. It was not exactly your usual, no stress, meet and greet. You should be lucky I was not running around in circles yapping and beating anything with a heartbeat over the head with my bokken.

It did sound ever so tempting though.

Misao blinked, and then squinted at me as though** I** was the one making strange requests. "I go missing for more than a year, come back scarred and smelling of the sea, and the only thing you can say is 'would you like some tea? I am sorry Kao-chan, but that is a level of freaky-strange that Kenshin normally does, not you."

Now that she mentioned it, there was indeed a vaguely salty tang about Misao that I couldn't place. If it was the scent of the ocean, she must have come for quite some distance away, I didn't live anywhere near the sea. So if she still carried the scent of it even after so long away from the sea on her journey here, the scent on her must have been a result of saturation after a very, very long exposure.

How interesting.

"Well it is soothing." I answered defensively. It really was. I honestly believed there was nothing in this world that staved of uncomfortable situations like a good cup of green tea. And if Kenshin was the one to teach me that, well so be it. We were married for years, I am allowed to take on his habits!

I often used 'making tea' as reason relieve myself of stressful situations (read people), go into the kitchen, and in the process of making tea have mass bouts of hysteria that involve silent screams and a desperate urge to throw myself down the nearest available well. Once this hysteria was burned out of my system, I would be fully composed and capable of making my way to the hall to serve the tea and deal with whatever chaos that it brought up. I am pretty sure that's not how Kenshin did it, but hey it works for me!

Can you see why I have tea so often now days?

Misao cocked an eyebrow and gave me a look that said, without a doubt, her view on the issue. "I do not, and have never had any need to be 'soothed'" she spat the word out like it was a particularly vile pill. "You on the other hand seem to need vast quantities of 'soothing'. I suppose creeping around in the dark with your bokken for company has become a new hobby? Or was that specifically for me?"

Did she just accuse me of being high strung? This was the second person today to accuse me of being high strung! I was not HIGH STRUNG damn it! I had a very stressful life. You try dealing with the undead popping up in every corner and see how YOU dealt with that!

"Nope that production was just for you." I bit out "But I do have another issue to kick in the ass that does not involve me sneaking around like ninja. So if you don't mind I will retire myself to the kitchen and MAKE YOU SOME TEA!"

"I DON'T WANT SOME TEA!" she shouted back

Yahiko made a point to obviously roll his eyes in such away to draw my annoyed attention "Is this some freaky form of girl bonding or something? Coz' it seems pretty stupid."

"Oh shut up." I answered, he was not actually there, thus he was not suppose to have any say in what I chose to do or did not choose to do. I should at least be allowed to have an opinion damn it! And god damn me I would allow some ghost to stop me.

"Did you just tell me to shut up!" Misao shirked

"Don't call ma a ghost!" Yahiko shouted.

Oh shit, I thought.

There goes my sanity. Or at least my vague, half formed pretense of it. Now how the hell do you get yourself out of this Kamiya? I suppose it was at times like these that one could be excused for taking a leaf out of the short volume that is 'the book of Sano's advice'.

Rule number 1: When in doubt, lie.

"No."

"No?" Misao asked, staring at me as thought I was likely to take a bite out of her.

"Weak save busu!" Yahiko added. I mentally told Yahiko to introduce himself , face first, to the deep end of a lake.

"Yes Misao, No."

"So you **did not **tell me to shut up." She asked again.

"Yes." I was honestly getting tired of saying yes.

"So who did you tell to shut up?" There was now a gleam in Misao's eye that gave me all kinds of fear. I was well acquainted with that look, it generally appeared right before Misao would attempt to set fire to something she knew for a fact that she was not suppose to touch.

"Err, no one."

"Oi!" Yahiko added, but at this point I was too focused on getting myself out of this fire to care much about what his feelings had to say on the matter.

"So you told no one to shut up?"

"Precisely!" I made absolutely no sense, but hey if it confused Misao enough for her to leave me out of a total grilling, more points for me then.

"Kao-chan, anyone ever tell you that you are stark raving mad?" Misao asked innocently. But there was a hit of a smile at the corner of her mouth that might mean that the sheer stupidity of my attempt to lie might have worked. Points to Sano, he actually might have been on to something.

"Everyday Misao, every freaking day!" Meeting the living embodiments of my madness was confirmation enough. But for some strange reason, the whole conversation (random bouts of temper explosions included) put me more at ease with Misao. Only the 'Mischief maker Mikamichi' could keep up with me when our conversations became strange, and the fact that this woman could do the same proved her identity more than any face or feature.

Misao eyed me warily again, before shrugging it all off and smoothly and as easily as she would have done a cloak. "Ok then, just thought you should know." And with all the ceremony of a wet sponge, Misao proceeded to remove her large black cloak, and fold it into a neat square. What was revealed underneath was enough to stun me.

Misao was the walking advertisement for a cross between a cow farm and a steel mine.

From neck to hip Misao was draped in a supple leather vest, spiked periodically with blade sheaths and a shiny buckled belt. Her pants were a fitting thing that made the outfit an overwhelming shade of black. The strips of leather wrapped at her wrist and upper arm gave absolutely no doubt as to whom this was. Misao was a warrior.

"Damn, that's a lot of metal!" Yahiko cooed. I had nearly forgotten that he was in the room. The boy looked positively smitten by the outfit that I was fully tempted to throw something at him before he started drooling.

But I suppose throwing my bokken towards an invisible entity would not confirm my (dubious) sanity to Misao. Even if she herself, was seemingly accepting of madness as a whole.

"A new look Misao?" I asked because I was truly curios. The look was similar to that of a ninja, just with a hell of a lot more of weapons and a lot more cow byproducts. That and it distracted Yahiko from his drool fest and brought him back into the real world.

But not without comment.

"That outfit is SO DAMN COOL!" Kami save me from teenage stupidity.

Misao of course, unknowingly took Yahiko's words of praise very gracefully." Comes with the job description." She shrugged, "I would much rather be in cotton shorts, but being at sea kills cotton very quickly." Misao tugged lightly at one of the buckles on her shoulder.

At Sea? Another little warning beep went off in my head. The concept of the sea matched in with the 'Athena' idea. But I knew for a fact that Okina and Aoshi, and perhaps the rest of Kyoto, would be char grilled alive before allowing Misao to board a ship with sailors, which as a whole group, had a less than…respectable…reputation in their dealings with women.

And if Yahiko, the currently pre-pubescent, was salivating over her, what more would a group of rowdy violent, sex deprived, sailors be capable of doing?

You know what, forget the green tea, I think I have earned sake for this evening. Misao's story I believe would most definitely require large quantities of sake for me to be able to fully absorb.

Misao suddenly paused in her fiddling, and stood very, very still. She slowly tilted her head upwards as though listening to some far distant sound, and looked towards the half shadowed garden with a blank, glazed look that was eerie. The first thing that ran through my mind was that the dead better freaking stay away from my sakura tree. I liked my tree, and if more creepy should-be-dead people popped up there I would be forced to hate it.

"Kaoru, do you have another appointment this evening?" Misao asked, as still as a half shadowed statue.

"Huh? Another appointment?" I half mumbled. I think I would recall making arrangements to meet up with the dead specter of my husbands' ex-wife. Or appointments with any other dead soul for that matter.

"Is there someone you were supposed to meet here?" She asked again, her voice was unchanged but I could see her slowly crouch into a defensive position. Her hand flickered briefly to her hip and then there was a glimmer of silver in her hand.

"There goes the knife. Damn it looks sharp." Yahiko muttered and slowly made his way behind Misao at what I assumed he thought was a safe distance from the pointy object. I raised a silent eyebrow at him in question. My ghosts always seemed to know if another ghost was going to appear. If it was Tome, Yahiko would be able to confirm it.

To my despair he shook his head. "It's not her. Whatever it is, it's mortal."

I should feel better that at least my sakura tree is unmolested by the dead, but the thought of some other creepier creature lurking around in the shadows, stalking me was at this point, a little too much for my over filled plate. I think there is a universal quota of torture that a person is allowed to undergo at one point in life. The way my life is going, I am wayyyyy beyond it.

I begun to feel my temper simmer once again. I had done nothing so horribly wrong in my life that the universe had to punish me by sending every possible evil up my backside in this one point in my life. Enough was enough.

Gripping my bokken tightly once again, I stomp my way to the outer door of my verandah. This was exactly the same spot I sat so many weeks ago when I met Tomoe. With a deep breath, I relaxed my shoulders and released my ki senses.

It was like an unfurling if a great umbrella. I was a novice at the art, so my ki senses were graceless at best, but still effective enough to give me a general awareness of all, uncloaked, living objects in the area if I strained myself.

Slowly I became aware of several human life forces in the area. Two were lurking in the shadows off to my right. One of the two seemed distressed or aggravated and the other was barely a flicker of existence at all. There was Misao behind me who seemed to 'flicker' in and out of existence probably because she too was doing a ki reading. And there was perhaps one more but I could not be certain, it was too far away.

In a smooth move, I raised my sword and pointed to the shadowed corner with the two life forces.

"Show yourselves so I can beat the living crap out of you!" Perhaps not the most diplomatic of invitations, but definitely the most truthful one that I had at the moment.

The wind howled balefully through the branches of the trees. And nothing else moved.

After a moment or two of absolute stillness, there was a slight rustle and then two distinct thumps as a dark blotch of shadow melted into the vague outline of two crouching forms. The smoothness of the move gave a hint of who exactly we were dealing with. Ninja's, present company excluded, were well known as sneaky bastards.

It took me a moment, in which I regretted lighting the sitting room at all, for me to be able to make out more than just the roughest sketches of the figure of two human beings there.

It was then I noticed that one of those two figures was not exactly kneeling. He (for the build was distinctively male) was bound hand and foot into a fetal position and what I could see of his face hinted at a cloth gag as well.

But what really gave him away was the fact that he was dressed in Kamiya style colors and built like a full grown oak tree.

"HIJIRI TAKEMOTO!" Yes I was angry, so very, very angry.

The bound figure, who I had suspected was moving imperceptibly, went tout with shock. In his bound position he looked rather like a shocked carp, fresh out of the water. As soon as the shock wore off, the idiot began to flop around, gracelessly making his way towards what I now recognized as his captor.

Oh yes, the moron knew what would happen to him the moment I got my hands on him. I would gut him like the spineless, brainless, fish that he was and serve him to Enishi just for the sheer satisfaction of it. Perhaps we could compare notes on the art of murder. It seemed like a satisfying new hobby to take up at this point.

Ok I think its time to focus on the present here and not the pleasant idea of stringing Take-chan's entrails along my front gate.

"Release him, and then get your creepy ass out of my property!"

I could feel Misao gape at the back of my head at my choice of wording. Traditionally whoever dared to threaten my loved ones would be first and foremost beaten to an inch of their very stupid lives. But I simply did not have the time, or energy to deal with another grudge holding figure from Kenshin's past.

Sorry, shop closed, schedule full, quota filled, try again next lifetime.

The figure, still hidden by the darkness had the faintest trace of a question in his ki. It resembled the form of a ghostly question mark over his head.

"I don't have time to deal with whatever grudge/dissatisfaction/annoyance/ grief you hold against myself, my family, my son or even my husband." I decided to give a list for good measure to see if there would be a reaction to any one individual. There was none.

"Come back in a year, I'll provide satisfaction for you then. But right now I don't have time to deal with whatever kidnapping plot you have cooked up in that hollow head of yours. So feel free to evict yourself from my property and if you would be so kind as to drop the moron into any river that you pass, I would be most grateful." I finished, that wrapped up my views rather nicely I thought.

Both the figure and Take-kun seemed to twitch.

The figure cocked its head as though evaluating my sanity. Behind me I could feel Misao do the same, but I was pretty sure she was smiling while she was doing it. Gee, I was happy to be a source of entertainment for her, I was pretty sure I was also the living sport of some of the gods.

The figure seemed to think I was sane enough (not a good testimony of its judgment) and shifted forward into the dull light from my lantern.

The fist thing that ran though my mind, was that Enishi was going to die, slowly, via chopstick.

The man was Chinese.

His facial features were distinctive and sharp, the dark robes he wore were high collared and of the Chinese style, and he had the single most glossy head of hair I have ever had the displeasure of envying. I have never been to China, and to the best of my knowledge, neither had anyone else in my family excluding Sano who I was never certain of. There was also a sharp edge to this man's dark onyx eyes that spoke clear as day about his occupation.

You could dress a tiger in silk, but it still was a tiger. Men of the underground always had that bloodthirsty glint in their eyes that ware a trademark of their jobs.

After that quiet instant, he shifted his hand, moving it to his throat.

In a move that was too fast for me to recognize let alone evaluate, Misao was beside him with the delicate edge of the dagger pressed to his throat.

How the hell did she move so fast? It was like watching a leaf get lost in a raging stream. One minute she was there and the next she was not. The only way I noticed the movement was because my Ki senses were still up, but even they were delayed in recognizing her shift.

"I believe Kamiya-san asked you to leave." Her dead voice was cold enough to raise the dead. I had to silently wonder if Misao herself didn't have blood on her hands.

The man seemed unmoved. With his job description, I could not say for certain but I guessed this was not the first time he had a dagger held at his throat. He was remarkably calm about the whole production. Stupidly stoic to the core.

Behind him, the wiggling from of Takemoto proved the example of the total opposite. The boy was just stupid, stoic was beyond his comprehension.

Despite the blade at his neck, it seemed the man was determined to get at whatever weapon he had stashed at his throat. Misao growled a warning as he slowly began to move his hand once again to his neck.

"Stop moving. State your name, organization and what bug crawled up your ass and died to cause you to haunt two innocent, helpless, young women at this time of night." Somehow describing us as poor and helpless didn't seem to add the weight of reality to Misao's words. She was after all holding the man at knifepoint, and act that was neither innocent nor helpless.

The man seemed adamant to get to throat and continued on regardless. Misao pressed down the dagger on the tender flesh, and the sudden burst of the scent of copper made my stomach churn unpleasantly. I was not squeamish about the sight of blood; it was the process of drawing it though pain that disturbed me greatly.

Seeming to think that he had nothing more to loose, he grabbed the edge of this mandarin collar and tugged it downwards, revealing inches more of his neck. From where I stood, I could hardly see anything, but whatever he revealed, it caused Misao to blink in shock.

"What is it Misao?"

She grunted in response, "I doubt we will be getting any answers out of this one, not vocally at least." Misao leaned over and tugged at what seemed to be a smooth metal object hanging from his neck and promptly snapped the cord holding it to him. "I think I've also figured out who he works for."

Without so much as a look, Misao flung the metal object towards me with inches more force than was strictly necessary. With the grace of years of training, I caught it and tore my eyes away form Misao's form to study the cool square object within my hand.

It was a metal badge of some kind. Small enough to be hung like a large locket, it bore distinctive and recognizable markings. A white tiger glared at me from its metal home and in annoyance I glared back.

Another one of Enishi's mind games?

I didn't think so. But then again, teacher or no, I hardly knew the man.

"Come on Kaoru, don't tell me you don't recognize it! After all the trouble I went through to make sure you got the dagger, you should at least know Enishi's stamp by now!"

My overtaxed mind came to an abrupt halt.

"YOU sent me the dagger?!" I nearly shrieked at Misao. I was certain that my face was doing an excellent rendition of shocked carp. That simply couldn't be. Enishi admitted to it didn't he? I was certain that I had it all figured out. But looking back, a recalled that he didn't exactly admit to putting the dagger there. He admitted that the blade was his, and that he viewed messages through daggers to be archaic. Never once did he say that he actually did it.

Sneaky rat bastard!

"With a little help, yeah, I did it. It wasn't easy to steal the thing I tell ya! But to get it to Tokyo and to your dojo was no walk in the park. I had to make sure you were warned about him before something stupid happened and you got dead. I couldn't exactly prance up to your door and inform you!" Misao moved her dagger away from the man's throat but kept the weapon in his view. A not so very subtle threat, but one I assumed was effective for Misao. We knew the man carried Enishi's stamp but for arguments sake, so did I. He could still be out to get me. And he caught and bound one of my (decidedly stupid) dear students.

Misao suddenly arched up her hear fast enough for me to hear the creak in the leather she wore. In an instant the blade was back at the kneeling man's throat and her head was turned to the left as though she heard a loud bang from the area.

It took me an instant to feel the sharp cold presence there as well, but when I did it brought a strange sense of calm. Everything would be tolerable now. We could at least get some straight answers now.

If no one died before that.

"Athena, what do you think you are doing to Lee?" the smooth tone of Enishi's voice slithered out form the directly below the skaura tree. There was a very, very small hint of anger in his voice.

But it was comparatively tiny.

Like a giant, powerful cat, Enishi sauntered his way forward, his white garb making his clothing and hair stand in stark contrast to his shadow hidden his face. He honestly looked more ghostly then some of my own spirits.

Enishi should be called the white devil, not the white tiger. But right now I wanted to kiss the bastard. He brought this on, so its only fair that he fix it. I leave it all to him!

Misao, unfazed as ever, just cheerfully answered.

"But boss, how else are you supposed to greet your ex-boyfriend?"

* * *

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer:

Me: hey, if I don't ask anyone permission to own it…can I just claim it to be mine?

Computer: no

Me: But I didn't ask.

Computer: The answer is still no.

Me: BUT WHY NOT!!!!

Computer: (throws Take and Lee at me) Here, you can molest these two. But everything else isn't yours.

Me: BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH.

Lee & Take:* Sweat drop*

Seriously: The views depicted in this story are not those held personally by the author and are for entertainment purposes only. Don't kill me.

A/N

A big thank you to JMai (points for being the first reviewer), Illico, miniwoo, Stubbs101, kat, and Midori Konbu. Woo 34 reviews! I swear when I started this project the most I was hoping for was 15, now it's twice that amount! You guys are a real confidence booster!

This chapter was probably the hardest one for me to write so far (and the longest). On one level it too **them** ages to get started, and when they got started they **refused to stop** (trust me, you'll see)!

I also have a poll at the end of this chapter about the future content of this story, so please just put your opinion in a review and we will see where we can take this story.

Enjoy!

Quote of the day:

If I had to wait for someone with rippling muscles to come rescue me, I'd build em myself. It'll be faster that way.

* * *

**The Insanity of Us**

Chapter 7: Alcohol, boyfriends and insanity:

More of the first & less of the second, gets rid of the third.

I was drinking sake.

Really, I was. Kneeling in my dining room, I sipped delicately from my tiny cup and lightly pondered the virtues of drinking the alcohol straight from the bottle. The tiny amount contained in the cup just couldn't get me drunk enough, fast enough. With the way things were going, tea just couldn't cut it any longer. There were so many webs, half webs, tiny webs and large webs of confusion and secrets curling around me, I was half afraid to sneeze in case I got someone killed.

With the company I keep, it was plenty possible.

Directly across the table from me, Enishi kneeled gracefully and eyed me as though I were some grand fortress to tackle. It was not a recent development, he gave me the same look the night he asked me to be his teacher. But the look today reflected a new, cunning edge that gave me goose bumps. He looked like a cat that just trapped its favorite rat and was just biding its time until the kill. This new development did nothing to comfort me, then again, I suppose I was getting used to being uncomfortable. I probably would die of shock if something** normal** ever happened around me now. How twisted was that?

To my right Misao sprawled with elbows on the table and idly played with one of her many, many knives. The blade flickered between her fingers with a smoothness that reflected extensive practice. It was hypnotizing to watch her play with something I knew was as sharp as death itself as though it was nothing more than a harmless toy. Despite the fact that my ki senses were down, I could see as clear as day the agitation within Misao. I also had no doubt as to the cause of it.

Shen Fie Lee (1). The man apparently was my resident bodyguard, Misao's ex-lover, Enishi's paid lackey and, to top it all off, a bottomless pit. I observed him, seated directly across from Misao, he consumed the simple cakes I bought from the market place earlier today with an ease and effectiveness that proved he was a match for Sano. I suspected that he might be the sort to eat anything that was not expressly nailed down. Funny, I suppose I should pay more attention to the first three parts of his history/ duties, but I really couldn't be bothered right about now. Oh yes, to make things even more interesting (as though they weren't before), Lee, was mute. Apparently this was due to a wicked looking slash across his throat that tempted me (strangely enough) to run my fingers across the pale, uneven marks, to see if the scared flesh felt any different from normal skin.

Sake was a very, very good thing.

I barely suppressed a giggle at the idea of running my hands along Lee's long pale throat. The idea was tempting but I was more curious about running my hands through Enishi's hair. Every time the man comes near me, I felt more and more aware of his physical presence. And I liked it. Madness aside of course.

"Ohh, little missy admits it! Did'cha hear that brat? She thinks he is_ cute_"

"Shut up rooster head, she's drunk. Nothing you say counts when you're drunk. You're not thinking straight!"

I stared at my sake cup and frowned. My sake cup should not be talking. It was an inanimate object and thus unable to communicate. Let alone talk in the voices of Sanosuke and Yahiko. And even if it could speak, it should not do so because talking to a sake cup when around guests was rude and insane. I was not insane (or rude for that matter). Thus I did not hear anything and would not be driven to defend myself (read beat the crap out of) out of the two hovering ghos- oops err I will not beat the crap out of my sake cup.

That made a lot of sense. I sighed in satisfaction and took another sip. Things were looking up.

"Sorry Jou-chan, that made all of nil sense. And the only thing that is up, and I mean **high **up, is you."

I ignored him, really I did. I only glared slightly at my cup. Behind me, Take-kun wiggled about, still bound hand and foot and more importantly, still gagged. I decided I would deal with him later and thought being tied up like a roasted fish would be a smidgen towards his punishment for getting caught. Just a smidgen, I had big plans of punishment for him.

"Oh come on Kaoru, everyone knows that you beat around your students because you are sexually frustrated. You just need to get some soon and I'm sure the universe would be perfectly fine."

I slammed down my sake cup with enough force to rattle the six or so bottles on the table. All eyes turned to me, going from smug (Enishi) to wary (Misao) to disinterested (Lee), Take just went really, really still. Now that I had the attention of the room and was clearly **not listening** to comments made about my sex life, I think it would be as good a time as any to get some much needed information.

"Ok" I said cheerfully, "now that we have all that out of the way and I am not totally sober, let me run through this one more time, just to make sure that I've got it straight." I gave everyone my best 'sensei is going to kill you' smile and eyed everyone evilly.

Enishi snorted, but remained more or less agreeable about the whole fiasco.

It took me some time but I think I got most of the story straight.

So, since the first time worked, I think it was time to refer to the short book of Sano's advice once again.

Rule number 2: When confused, be obvious.

With a sharp move, I pointed to Enishi. "YOU," I moved my finger to point at Misao, "are Misao's boss." My finger moved to point at the Lee's yawning face. "You are also the boss of Lee here."

"Explain to me how all this" I gestured to the space between the three of them "has nothing to do with you," finger back to Enishi, "as it seems to me that you are the root cause of all evil here!" I realized that my little declaration was similar to what one might do when explaining a complex thing to a very young child. Right then, I honestly felt that Enishi was being fully childish.

Misao smirked and flung her blade up in the air and deftly caught it. "She got you there boss."

Enishi snorted and gave me a look that implied that every tree stump in Japan displayed more intelligence than me. "Just because I hired them does not mean that they are both here because of me. Tragically, I do have a life beyond these gates and more often than not it requires me to have minions who perform small, simple tasks."

A sharp whistling sound passed through Lee's lips and he raised a sharp brow at Enishi.

Misao, still looking away from him sighed and rolled her eyes. " 'Silent wonder' here protests the use of the word 'minion'."

I stared wide eyed at Misao's crass words. There had to be some rule somewhere about words, sticks, stones and not getting hurt. But really, there were some things you just didn't say! Lee, nice or evil did not disserve to feel small because of his voice, or lack thereof. The misunderstood tomboy in me protested, having suffered her own share of sharp words and mean remarks.

"Misao!" I chided. It has been years since I was allowed to truly mother someone but there were some things that just needed to be corrected.

Misao sighed and then promptly slammed her dagger blade first into my table. "Let me get one thing straight here. I do not care that Lee- the ever stupid- can't sing freaking birdsongs at the top of his voice. As far as I'm concerned, the only reason he is still alive right now is the fact that he can't say anything too stupid that will tempt me to introduce more holes into his scull.

She took a deep breath and glared at Lee, who strangely enough seemed to have a gleeful gleam in his eyes as he observed her anger. "You are the largest stalker, pain in the ass I have ever had the misfortune to step on! I left your ass in Shanghai two years ago. TWO YEARS!" She gestured to him, raising two fingers to punctuate her words, getting ever louder. "I told you, as loudly, and as slowly as I could that we were over. And in case that does not compute, over is defined as ended, finito, full stop, the fat lady sang, etc. And yet, YET you seem to hunt me down wherever I go and throw yourself in the way of whatever I am in the process of getting done! WHAT do you have to say for yourself?"

The air was thick with Misao's anger. I observed that Enishi arched a brow in interest in uniform with the gaping look from Yahiko and the leering grin from Sano. All of us waited on bated breath for his response.

And in the thick of this anticipation, Lee shrugged, and then took a bite out of his 4th piece of cake.

"ARRRGHHH!" Misao shrieked, and slammed her fists on the table. "You see what I had to put up with!"

I passed a glance at Enishi and raised my own brow at him. "I take it you were not aware of this?"

He smirked once again and passed his gaze over both Misao and Lee. "I had a passing awareness of them. It is my business after all. But I did not know it was this…extensive or prolonged. Lee is actually meant to be your guardian. Misao is here of her own choice."

"Guardian….is that a fancy term for babysitter?" I asked, my own anger coming forth. I was a full fledged warrior in my own right. I didn't need a bodyguard.

The smile was immediately wiped from his face and I got to see the man who had his hand in every illegal activity within a 300 kilometer radius of Japan at all times, at the very least.

"The business I am in is a dangerous one and because of it my life is already forfeit. I could, and probably would, die gorily at any time, for any reason, and by anyone. Anyone I associate with constantly at risk from the moment I come in contact with them. And the type of slime pits that I deal with are more incline to shoot first rather than give you a face to face battle. Tell me Koru, does the higher levels of Kamiya Kassin Ryu teach you how to dodge bullets?"

I felt a sharp cold chill shoot through all my limbs. I was aware of the danger, I had to admit that. But to have it displayed so openly was unnerving. A tiny part of me cheered loudly that he was **concerned** with my wellbeing for, hopefully more than just educational purposes.

I gave that part of me a firm mental slap and 500 swings. I ducked my head and refused to meet his gaze. "You should have told me at least! I dislike having people around that I don't know about!"

"If everything had turned out as planned, you wouldn't have known." Enishi sent a cold, cold glare towards Take's prone body.

What little color Take's face, vacated the premises and headed south for less dangerous climates. It took me years to have that reaction from my students. It was unfair that Enishi could get it in just a few minutes!

I glared at the white haired man once again.

No reaction.

Damn, I think I might need to work on my glare again. I must have been loosing my touch.

"Ok, never mind. We have established that Misao is being stalked by her ex-boyfriend Lee. Now lets move on to more important issues."

Lee released a shrill whistle once again, giving his disagreement with my statement. Misao only crossed her arms and stared at me sulkily.

"Lets start with the thick of it. Misao, what the hell is up with you?" Blunt, yes, but also effective.

She sighed and leaned her head on her arm. "You want the short story or the long one?"

"Short please, I'd like to get all my shock over with at one go."

Misao sighed again. "Ok, the short of it begins with me running away because the government was trying to take over the Oniwabanshu, and they decided to use me as the human olive branch."

"Human olive branch?" I asked, truly bewildered. I had no idea what an 'olive' was let alone what a human one would be.

Enishi, probably waited his whole life to embarrass me, decided to provide the explanation. "They used her as a bartering chip for marriage. Usually done for political gain. It is probably one of the most common forms of unhappiness available."

Misao nodded sagely and continued. "Point being, I was already in my late 20's. Well beyond the age of marriage, and from the outside, getting married to Tamaki, the son of some general or other, would be a Godsend. He was from a good family, I was from a good family. It was not an unfeasible match. But as the female head of a spy network, if I got married, as archaic as it is, I forfeit my leadership to my husband, who would have gained full control of the Oniwabashu."

There was a cold pit of dread gathering in the base of my stomach. For a man who was willing to wed just to gain power, it would have been proof enough of a sinister personality that could have bought not good to the power he earned.

"So you ran away?" I asked.

"Well, not just yet. There were other things to deal with as well. You see, we could not reject the suite. There was absolutely no formal reason for me to. And if I did reject, they would claim that we were performing underground terrorist acts and force us to disband and relinquish any and all information and networks we had into the hands of the government as an 'act of good faith'. They wanted to avoid that choice because we were well liked by the Kyoto people. Any large move against us, would, they feared, incite the people of Kyoto against Government officials. By that time, they were already monitoring us, our movements and who we spoke to. That's why I couldn't tell you about anything that happened, it would have just drawn attention to you and put you in hot water as well."

I could see the wisdom in that. If they had learnt of Misao's attachment to me, or her connection to her household, my security could have been used as a bargaining chip against Misao. If they didn't know about it already, it was best they didn't find out.

Enishi grunted what I assumed was his approval.

"The thing about it was, Okina and Aoshi were being stupid about it. They knew me leaving would limit the damage that Tamaki could cause. If I ran away, the Oniwabashu would be dishonored. And if they tried to pull this again with any other member of our family, the people would figure it out. No one would want to marry into a dishonored family unless they wanted something big in return. It was not clean option, but it was one I had to take. So about a week or so before my wedding, I knocked out both of my guards, I ran away, hitched a ride on a passing ship, made my way to Shanghai and somehow got onto Enishi's payroll." Misao ended her story with a great big sigh.

It seemed so clean, too sterile. I was sure there was a lot more to the story than just that. The amount of grief the decision to run away from your family and know that you could never return was no light thing. Especially for one who was as attached to her family as Misao was. Her love for Aoshi alone was enough to make her stay in what everyone called a dead end love for more than two thirds of her life. To walk away from that…takes more love than I could ever comprehend.

It brought tears to my eyes. I sniffed delicately and tried to blink back the moisture threatening to leak out. Shit, I hated this part of alcohol. One minute I was on top of the world, the next minute I was the living representation of a fountain. I hated it because sooner or later I would begin feeling sorry for myself and then it just went downhill from there.

"Oh shit, here comes the waterworks." Yahiko grumbled.

But I refused to cry, at least not in public. I save my weeping for my bedroom, thank you very much.

"O-ok." I murmured. "So, that's why the Oniwabansu are after you? Because you dishonored them?"

Misao smiled sadly and shook her head. "No. I could have dishonored them a million times and they wouldn't have cared. They are after me because Aoshi ordered it."

"AOSHI DID WHAT?"

Misao just shrugged, as though it was an everyday thing that your guardian, leader or your version of a mortal god signed your death warrant. "He was given no choice. Apparently Tamaki really, really liked me." Misao's dislike of the man dripped like venom from her lips. "He forced the order out, and now I am the single most wanted person in Japan since Shishio."

Across from her, Lee's eyes darkened into pinpoints of steel. Something told me Tamaki might be suffering an unfortunate accident very, very soon. His eyes then flickered into something more wary but no less violent. I had a feeling that this look was meant for Shinimori Aoshi himself. Perhaps a more difficult target, but apparently one that was worth the trouble.

That kind of loyalty is often fueled by a special kind of passion.

"Misao….I'm-"

"Don't say it Kaoru. I've made my peace with what I had to do. I don't regret it. It has made my life all kinds of difficult but there is nothing in the world I would change. I have protected my clan. Personal cost is not important in the way of the ninja, you know that."

I nodded weakly. I understood that in a ninja clan, the individual, even in death was not important. The greatest honor a ninja could be given would be to have an unmarked grave declaring them a mystery for all time (2). What mattered was not who you are, but what you did. Despite this, it didn't mean that the whole procedure didn't hurt.

Becoming nothing to everyone you've ever loved is difficult. But I had to wonder if it was more painful for Misao to walk away or was it more painful to be the last one left behind. Perhaps they were the same, perhaps they were not but I was in no place to judge it.

I took a brief fortifying breath, and turned to look at Lee. Misao made it clear that the conversation was over. I just had one more fish to fry before I prepared everyone's sleeping areas, and retired to my own room.

"So I take it you are to be my personal bodyguard?"

He merely quirked an eyebrow as though asking me why I was asking him something I already knew.

I sighed "OK, I know, dumb question. I am going to assume that you found my I'm-so dumb-I should-be-a-tree-stump student lurking about and…apprehended him?"

Lee looked me in the eye and nodded.

Behind me Take had long since stop squirming and I was certain it was not because he was tired or anything so mundane. He stopped moving because it interrupted the quality of his eavesdropping. The boy was honestly as bad as a ragged old fishwife sometimes. But I figured that he was already that far in, there was no way I was keeping him out now.

"Ok, I am going to ask this just for my own satisfaction, and I suspect that I will be disappointed. When you caught him, did he fight back?"

The man seemed to ponder my question before reaching back down the back collar of his shirt and pulling out something long, tan colored and that fit perfectly in a single handed grip. It was Take-kun's bokken. I recognized it because it was a gift form myself when he was made assistant master. It bore his name at he hilt. The fact that Lee had obviously confiscated it proved that Take might not have been as stupid as I suspected.

Lee was not a large man by far. Only slightly taller than myself, he had broad shoulders that spoke of muscles but other than that was a generally unimposing man. Until you looked him in the eye. There you could see that this man was all business and his business was exercised through the creative use of pointy objects. I tried not to think too hard about what else the man had stuffed down the back of his deceptively tight coat. Or why such a man would stuff anything down the back of his coat for that matter.

"Was he any good?" That question came from the teacher in me. I simply couldn't help but want to know the quality of my student' sword compared to a man who lived on live steel.

This time Lee smiled, flashing me teeth that seemed startlingly white against his lightly tanned skin. He smoothly used his left hand to roll up the dark material of his right sleeve. He folded the cloth up to his elbow and reached out the appendage.

It was the arm of a warrior, there was no doubt about that. Palms rough with use, arms hard with muscle, prominent veins which were often a side effect of hard training. But what Lee wanted me to see was not the shape or form of his arm, it was the large angry blue-red bruise that was beginning to form on the whole length of the outer edge of his forearm. It was not a normal contact bruise. To make such a mark on hardened flesh required a great amount of force, with repeated application. The fact that it was on the outer edge of his arm proved that Lee had to have been on a defensive position when the blows came down.

Take-kun had apparently put up a very good fight. A fight, good enough to put a seasoned warrior in a defensive position more than once. The warm glow of pride filled me like delicious soup. It was always good to hear praise for your life long work. It was something else entirely to have it shown to you. Take-kun might not have to die after all if he fought valiantly and fell with dignity.

Or about as much dignity as Take could ever fake. I still thought inner grace was truly beyond him.

That one tiny comfort, that I had not failed my student where I had failed everyone else gave me the kind of joy I experienced the first time I held Kenji in my arms right after he was born. I was smiling, as brightly as I did that day. I could feel the joy that perhaps had gone too long untouched curl to the tips of my fingers. I was proud, and happy and truly, truly content.

Whatever life could throw at me, it could not take away the fact that I was a teacher, and my student had grown.

I laughed then. Letting that warm ball of light that curled in my stomach out with the sound. In so much darkness, it felt good to have something light and beautiful like hope and satisfaction curl around here. It felt good to let it out, so very good.

Misao cocked her head and laughed too. "Only you Kaoru would be pleased that your student got beaten to an inch of his life." She chuckled on leaned her head on her hand and gave me a soft, tranquil smile.

Lee's eyes gave a dark flash of something that might have been longing as he looked at Misao. But there was a wry smile on his lips as he tugged down his sleeve once again. I think that Lee and myself, bodyguard or not, would get along splendidly. There was still something good in him despite the dark shroud I recognized within him. I suspected, that good was directly connected to s certain weasel that we all knew and loved.

But it was finally the heated look from Enishi that brought a halt my laughter. His eyes went from cool bits of colored turquoise glass to a dark, hollow blue. I didn't know what made switch in Enishi, or even if there was a trigger. But there were flecks of something deep, a hunger that went beyond starvation into eons of cold, lonely deprivation within his eyes. It was like I had tapped into something within him that had long since been shattered to dust yet still ached to be pulled together to form the greater whole. And something I did, or said had called it out.

His hunger, unlike Kenshin's need was one that burned in its desire rather than quietly overcome. It was a feeling that you had to accept or be destroyed by. And I feared that this level of fire was not fueled by something sane or even controllable.

But despite this, I could not bring myself to look away, and whatever he saw within me only fed the waiting furnace. Despite the fear that came with that awareness, there was a part of me, that single inch that longed for that kind of fire. After being in control for so long, after bearing the weight of my choices and the choices of others thrust upon me, it would be sublime just to leave it up to someone else.

Someone who wouldn't leave.

A loud thump shook me from my reverie and I immediately turned from Enishi's to look at the source of the noise. I was grateful for its distraction. I suspected I was getting a little in too deep. And despite the fact that I constantly encourage idiots around me to jump head first into the deep end of things, I was smart enough not to take my own advice.

Take, seemingly insistent in his desire to serve as my hero was once again thrusting himself bodily towards my person. It was clear that he wanted out from his binds and seemed to think that because I laughed approvingly at his behavior I was going to do so.

"And what do you want?" I asked. I refused to ponder what happened between me and Enishi. I didn't need the stress.

Misao chucked from her seat. I vaguely noted that Sano and Yahiko were mysteriously absent and they had left without comment. Not something that happened before.

Take wiggled imploringly drawing attention to his gag by shaking his head.

I sighed and shook my head at his antics. Even from the very beginning, Take always knew how to cause just the right kind of chaos to get me out of a funk. I suspect it was Yahiko's training.

I reached over, grabbed Misao's dagger and turned back to Take. His eyes widened to a nearly impossible size. Yes I am plenty aware that I have an oath to avoid bloodshed, but there is something undoubtedly satisfying in carrying around something that can cause a world of bleeding. The blinding grin from Misao confirmed this.

"Hold still and I won't cut you."

Take immediately stilled. In three slashes I had his arms, legs and mouth free.

In less than a second I regretted the decision.

"SENSEI! You said you had it all under control! How could you allow your darling pupil to be left tied up like a roast chicken! The pain, the agony!"

I shook my head at him. I knew that he was worried for me. He always was, but all this drama really was not needed.

"If you can whine, you can get your sorry ass back to your house. I will not have your father knocking my door asking if I was performing lurid sexual acts with his darling eldest son." Yes, another tragic event that happened the evening he spent 'reeducating' the idiots who dared to insult one Kamiya Kaoru.

Take had the sense to look a little green at the thought. It was not a pleasant memory. "But sensei I can't leave you alone!" _with them_, was very much implied.

"Yes, and I am certain that you are plenty useful strung up like a roasted fish?"

Take had the decency to blush and glare at Lee, who in a fit of good humour raised a glass in salute to him in return. I suspected that Take was sorely tempted to stick his tongue out in retaliation but I bopped him on the head with my fist before he could do so much as open his mouth.

"Go home kid, I think that's the gentlest pat you're about to get from your sensei this evening." Misao added. The dark look he gave her in response tempted me to bop him again.

"Ok, I'll leave for now sensei, but I am coming back first thing in the morning and then I am gonna hang around like a bad rash, no matter what my father says."

I recognized an impasse when I saw one. I nodded just to get him out of the area. Tomorrow I would be more inclined to debate his rash-like intentions, and I was certain I could be persuasive when I was less tired. The alcohol crash was getting to me.

"Yeah whatever, get out."

Take-kun had several loud things to say about the situation but eventually made his way home but not before boldly walking to Lee, grabbing his treasured bokken and marching stiffly away.

"That's one problem down." I turned to look at the three other occupants of the room "Anything else or do I have to stop another apocalypse?"

The crickets were unusually loud tonight.

"Lovely, now about sleeping arrangements…." I continued.

Lee immediately got up. His move quick move was surprising after his long stillness. He bowed to me and then gestured to the garden once again.

"Lee is still under orders to serve as your protection; he will not rest in the house." Enishi bluntly explained. The man had his arms crossed and seemed to frown at the table in such a way to cause me to fear for someone's life.

In my head I could see banked fire in his words that I saw earlier. I suppressed a shiver.

Lee smile, waved, and in a single quick motion disappeared out through my verandah door into my shadowed garden.

So now that left us with 3 people for company.

Misao was next to sigh, and stretch her arms out at such an angle that made me wonder as to how flexible she really was. That amount of bending was scary. "Well, good evening children. I'm tired and salty and I think I'm going to retire for a bath and then go to bed."

I made a motion to get up an escort her to the bathing chamber and prepare it for her. I was the hostess after all. But the act of leaving a guest by himself in the dining room grated against every teaching I received as a child and before my wedding on how to be a good woman.

Misao waved me off. "I know my way around your bath and I also know my way around your guest rooms. I'll be fine. Sit here and baby ole grumpy pot will you? Who knows after a couple of years of being around good company e might grow up to be a plenty decent man." Misao ended her words with a large exaggerated wink and quickly made her way towards the baths.

Seconds later, It was just me, Enishi and all my little sake bottles.

"You laugh very strangely."

And so the abuse begins. I suddenly wished for more of the 'little sake bottles'.

"So you say. And I assume you are comparing me to multitudes of females who chortle their way around you?" Was is just me or did I sound bitter? I had no issues with the multitudes of females throwing themselves at him. He was the head of the Shanghai underground. I was not naive enough to assume he spent most of his adult life in a chastity belt.

Not that it should matter either way.

Enishi calmly crossed his arms and gave me a look that told me he got the message. The quirk of his lip told me he got more of the message than I would have liked him to. He still didn't meet my gaze, after a few moments of self prodding I found that the avoidance annoyed me.

"Have I developed a growth on my face or is there some other reason you avoid looking at me?" As soon as the words escaped my mouth I wanted to shove them back in. Why in the name of all that was holy was I agitating a man who was already very unbalanced this evening?

I suppose I was just stupid like that.

His eyes immediately flashed to my face. Oh lord did they burn. Turquoise flickered to dark blue and back to turquoise again. I have seen such shifts before but only between violet and amber. Enishi was fighting with himself, and once again I feared I was the reason.

"What is it Enishi? What did I do?" I tried to keep my voice soft without being condescending. I could see his how he gripped his own arms across his chest with enough force to turn his knuckles white. I feared for anyone he meets should I not be able to talk him down.

He surprised me by thrusting his head back and laughing. It was a dark, slimy sound that spoke about worlds of evil and nothing of joy.

"YOU?" He turned his gaze to me and I nearly drowned in a sea of deep blue. It seemed that I was dealing with the charming aspect of his personality this evening that was not so very stable.

Joy.

"You have done nothing but be the perfect little teacher. So perfect, so righteous, I wonder what would you do if a grabbed your darling Take-kun by the throat and made you watch me crush it? Would you weep or would you attempt to kill me with you glorified toothpick? Or would you laugh with me, in that strange little laugh that you seem to have?"

I felt the sharp sizzle of my own anger at his words. Family was one point you did not threaten. Ever.

"That could never happen." I said sharply, drawing his wondering marble blue gaze back to me. "I would never allow you near Take as you are now. I would never allow you near anyone I cared about as you are now."

He laughed again. And in a move so quick it was beyond my perception, he flashed himself directly behind me. I stiffened, trying to get away from the sudden move, but he was too quick, too strong for that. In a simple move he curled his arm around my torso, pinning both my arms to my sides and tugged me back against his chest so that most of my weight rested on my tailbone. It was about as unbalanced as a person could get sitting down and the position left me virtually defenseless.

"What would you do now little dragon? I hold you here, against your will. How would you defend what you love from me like this? How would you stop me from doing anything I want when I hold you like this?" His voice was low, breathy. It made me want to shiver but at the same time it made me burn.

"I wouldn't have to." I answered as truthfully as I could.

He seemed to scoff, and then rested his sharp chin on my shoulder and began to nuzzle the side of my face much like an affectionate child. Well….perhaps not _exactly_ like a child.

"And why not? Do you think you have tamed the tiger?"

"No." I replied "If you are in here with me, then you cannot be out there breaking the things that I love. I serve my purpose."

He growled sharp and loud against my ear, my body, tensed before tightened into old wood. His arms became virtual vices against my body, plastering me against the cage that was his torso. There was something oddly sensual as well as violent about this position. And part of me liked it.

"You would sacrifice yourself to me to keep me away from those you love? How very noble of you sensei. But how certain are you that you'd be enough? The beast in me demands its weight in blood. Would you be enough to hold my attention?"

"I would have to be."

He gave off the dark chuckle again.

He nuzzled his nose against my throat he scented me even as I became more aware of the scent of him. It was something dark, spicy but vaguely like incense as well. It was power and tranquility and a spiciness that was danger. It was Enishi. "Perhaps you would be sensei." He rumbled against my ear, forcing me to suppress a gasp, "But to keep my attention, I will need a lot more than your blood to appease me. How much are you willing to give? How much are you willing to sacrifice for your peace of mind?"

I swallowed. The scent and warmth of him made my head swim and tempted me with something I well knew I should not want. It has been years since I was held like this. And my own hunger, the one that I kept hidden for so long now, began to growl.

"If I demanded your soul, would you give it?"

The hunger gave me its answer. I tilted my head, giving him access to more of my throat. All there was in the world was this hunger and it demanded that I appease it. Tonight, I did not wish to say no.

For that eternal number of minutes, the world was made up of his panting breaths against my skin and my own gasps within the cage of his body. As the minutes faded, he chuckled again. This time, the sound was less dark, more his usual, sarcastic tone. Along with the sound, the warm sensual haze around my mind began to dissipate.

"I find your submission most satisfactory, though not enough. I doubt it will never be enough. I warn you Kaoru, Battousai might have been satisfied to have you for his lifetime, I will not be so easily appeased. From here on out in this game, you are all mine. And I will not share you with ghosts."

With a last, deep breath of my scent, he pulled away. The sudden chill shocked me. I had assumed the burning heat came form his words not form his body. Before I could gather the sense to turn around and seek his gaze once again, he was gone. As swift as any ninja he escaped my presence and faded out from my dining room.

For minutes all I was left with were the empty bottles of sake and the faded crumbs of Lee's cake based conquests. Enishi's scent still hung around me like a cloak that I was trying my best to ignore.

With a deep growl, I thrust my head into my folded arms against the table and just wished to pass out for the rest of the year. I could deal with most tensions perfectly fine, but sexual tension was not something I enjoyed contemplating.

I was tired.

So bone achingly weary. At times it seemed my life built on the fear of my failure. Fear of failure as a daughter led me to cling on to a dying school. Failure as a woman led me to hold on to those who came to me in need. Failure as a wife forced me to remain tearless as I watched my husband walk out of my doors. Failure as a mother made me watch my only son walk out of his childhood home. Failure as a person left me alone in a home large enough for the 6 children that I had planned for.

Fear of failure ruled my life.

I had nothing else to loose. Nothing. No husband no son, no friends. Even my students were well enough without me. So why was I sitting around moping like some drooping plant? I have fulfilled my duties. Every one of them. Tears pooled weakly in my eyes. But I was alone now, there was no face to watch but my own. My thoughts raced across their path as if moved by something other than myself. I have given so much of myself out into the world that at times I feared that I would have nothing left in me to take into death. So who did I fear to fail now? Who else was left behind for me to serve?

No one.

But me.

I was all I had left.

With a deep fortifying breath, I forced my shaking limbs into some sort of order and forced my restless arms into motion cleaning up the table. Idleness was the devil's playground.

I was through being played.

If anyone wanted a game, I was going to play rough and I was going to play dirty. If I was the only thing I had to loose, then so be it. I was tired of being afraid the unknown. I was tired of giving a damn about what anyone else wanted. If the Gods threw Enishi in my path, then so be it. That will be the game of choice.

It was clear that physical …attention…reeled in the insanity within Enishi. I wonder how far I could take that. And I wonder what the price would swift motions I washed the dishes and made my way to the bath house. I had some more questions for Misao, and if I could have a bath while I was at it all the better. I doubt I could sleep well with his scent around me.

Assuming that I got any sleep at all.

For now all I could do was hope that being the devils plaything allowed me to play the devil as well.

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(1) Shen (deep thinking) Fie (light) Lee (plum)- strangely enough, I picked 'Lee' before I even knew what it meant. The plum bit was totally coincidental. Humm…I wonder if Tomoe is trying to tell me something. (insert X-files theme song).

(2) I saw this in an anime once, I think it was Peacemaker Kurogane but I am not sure. I think it is an apt description of the way of the ninja.

A/N OK here comes the poll

Should I up the rating for this story? I have toyed with the idea of adding a few more….steamy…. scenes in the story itself but I don't want to make in unsuitable for some readers.

Tell me what you think.

Cheers

**Akasha_d.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Not mine not mine not mine not mine. *cries*

Oh my holy mother of GOD this was a difficult chapter to write. I apologize in advance for the crappy quality of my writing this time guys, but my muse (pokes puppy Pugsley-muse) was fickle, cruel and always going bloody missing. I had to re-write this monster 6 times before I could even get beyond page five. But what I lacked in timeliness I made up for in length. 40 pages. A new personal best!

A big thank you goes out to Illico (hands cookie for being first reviewer), stela, Midori, Famelia Ly, Konbu, JMai,

Triste1: Yes I know how you feel about Misao being portrayed as either a hyper super happy chick or a depressed 'broken' woman. I wanted to try something different with her, gritty without being morbid. I am happy that you liked how she turned out. As for Kaoru scolding…lets just say there is a little bit of this chapter just for you.

Kat: Haha. Yes believe it or not, I fully understand how maddening adhd can be. I was undiagnosed for a very, very long time, and when they finally got around to it there wasn't really much left to help anyway. I thank you for the compliment.

I am really sorry for the delay but I promise that this story WILL NOT GO UNFINISHED! *cheers*

On a side note, I have decided to up the rating (thank you to everyone who shared their opinion). Something about a shirtless, sweaty Enishi just demanded to be Kaoru-molested. (XD) So all ya'll lil kiddies that put me on alert, please be aware that this is no longer a somewhat pg++ rated story. If your moms and dads catch ya'll reading this and decide to kill me, I will haunt you for the rest of your life while reciting badly done contemporary poetry.

Think about it.

Quote of the day:

I am sorry, my reality currently doesn't accept the concept of time management, organization or responsibility. Please try again later.

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The Insanity of Us

**Chapter 8: A Physical Fixation.**

"I'm pregnant."

The bath was nearly overly hot, which was not surprising considering that Misao had rarely had the opportunity to heat her own water while traversing all over the globe. Some skills just couldn't be mastered while constantly moving, though to this day, Kenshin is the only exception to that rule.

"You're pregnant?"

The bath water seemed to absorb the alcohol that was seeping out of me and attempting to shove it back up my nose though the steam. Considering this factor, I duly assumed Misao's declaration to be a part of its effects.

"Yup, I'm about two months along, and junior here has not been giving me much trouble. The midwife said that it probably means that it's a boy, as baby boys tend to be less stressful during pregnancy."

"Humm, really?" I leaned my head against the wooden edge of the tub and enjoyed how the water stripped away the stress from my bones. Water, hot water, was the best cradle that a grown woman could have. I was getting a bit sleepy.

"Uhuh, and if it's a boy, I want to name him Sayuri and train him to be a Geisha. Just to spice things up, you know. Do you think you could arrange for the training?" Misao punctuated her words with a swift kick to my flank that caused the water in the tub to splash dangerously close to the edge of it.

"Yea-WHAT!" Ok, that woke me up. I blinked at Misao just to be sure I was not having auditory hallucinations. "Geisha…??!!" I asked blinking the sleep from my eyes.

Misao threw her head back and gave off one of her light airy laughs that always seemed to be coming from several directions all at once. "Only you Kaoru, could sleep through something like that!"

"Sleep through what?" I asked, still a little lost in all this at-Kaoru-laughing. Nothing should be *that* funny.

"You just slept through my pregnancy."

"PREGNANCY?!" Once again stirred by my movement the water threatened to escape the tub and drown the stone floor of the bathing chamber.

"Well, you slept through its declaration." Misao was still smiling that soft smile that mothers gave their children when the kid was doing something particularly cute but ultimately stupid.

Gah.

I rubbed my face with a tired palm, and sighed. "Ok lets have a bit of a rewind for little ole stressed and tired Kaoru." I sat up in the warm water and faced Misao.

"You're pregnant."

"Yes"

"You're two months along."

"Yup."

"And you suspect its going to be a boy."

"That's what I've been told."

"And you're sure I'm not dreaming."

Misao smiled softly, reached over the small space between us in the tub and proceeded to pinch me.

"OUCH! What was that for!" I asked, rubbing my throbbing arm.

"Nope, you're not dreaming, that confirmation enough for you?" Misao responded with a grin that was inches too gleeful for my taste. "Now can you stop freaking out and congratulate me already!"

"Misao! YOU"RE PREGNANT!" My brain was back in that little loop that left it yapping in circles. Disgraceful, I know but you try dealing with strange situations under the influence of alcohol.

"Yeah…I'm kind of the one that told you."

"But Misao! You. Are. Expecting. A. Baby!" The reality of the statement was having difficulty sinking in. Misao, the little hyperactive weasel couldn't be pregnant! I mean, there had to be some law out there that forbade it.

"Kaoru, if you don't start taking like a normal person I will be forced to smack you." The forced calmness of her voice made the threat seem very real.

And with those words the real world came back to me. Misao was no longer the 'little weasel girl'. The strip of skin between her forehead and her collarbones displayed enough scars for me to be certain that the Misao from years ago was literally carved away from her flesh.

Woman-Misao was going to become a mother. She was going to have a little Misao's or Aos-.

"Who is the father?!" I asked in a panic. Two months along, the father couldn't have been Aoshi, at least I didn't think so. She said that she was on a ship for the last few years right? But that didn't mean that they had not met up sometime during or even after he little run away from home. It only really needs one meeting. I crossed my fingers and prayed otherwise. Only a bad drama would allow the father of a child to be the same man who ordered its mother's death.

Misao sighed and looked away. "I've probably been at sea on and off for more than five years and then fully tied to a ship for about three. Being constantly in motion is its own form of protection." She shrugged and the water slapped against the rim of the tub.

"I haven't seen or heard from Aoshi for more than three and a half years. He is not the father, and before you ask, neither is Lee."

Lee was the name next on my list, but Misao's words scratched him out. Which of course left my list delightfully empty. I wanted to ask if she knew who the father was, but it was not really my place…and the implications of asking it was a little too harsh for me.

"Kaoru, remind me never to let you play poker, you'd suck at it." Misao said with a light teasing note. "Yes, I know who the father is, but, I don't give a shit. I am not going to marry the bastard and I wouldn't want him anywhere near my kid, or any kid for that matter. I hope the only thing this baby gets from its father would be his looks. He was one good looking bastard, but a bastard none the less." Misao delicately patted her stomach.

"Oh." I mean really, what else was I suppose to say?

"I'm still waiting for my congratulations you know." Misao arched a brow in challenge at me.

I laughed weakly and once again nervously rubbed my face. "Sorry Misao. Congratulations on your pregnancy. I am very happy for you, if a little freaked out. Age catching up and all that. I'm sure you'll make a great mother."

Misao shrugged. "I wouldn't use the word 'great' but I want to do my best."

"This is why you can't continue prancing about all over the globe." I stated, already certain of the answer. That was it, the main potato. For someone in her position, Misao couldn't just up and say 'enough' without a really, really good reason. A baby was obviously a very, very good reason.

"It was funny, I was so sure that all this globe trotting was everything I wanted to do with my life, but the second I heard about the baby it all went out the window fast. Perhaps I wanted to settle down but didn't think I had reason enough to. I started running for my family, I think nothing short of family is worth stopping for. Whatever happens from now onwards its going to have to be for the benefit of both my child and I. It feels very strange to have to give a crap about the needs of others after so long being on my own."

Thinking back on my own new resolution, I saw an undeniable irony. "Trust me, its just as strange letting go of everything."

We both made it a point to keep our eyes forward and constantly gazing at the floor of the bathing chamber. This conversation, I feared, was becoming a little too deep for me to handle. I think Misao shared the feeling.

With a dexterity that was second nature to the weasel, she smoothly and suddenly streaked out of the water without so much as a splash. Observing the pale and tanned streaks of flesh along her body, I was reminded of Misao's words about the scar on her face as one of her 'trophies'.

She did not exaggerate.

Her back, thighs and calves were peppered with gashes and marks of varying thickness and length. Some of them had a sheen that usually signified cauterization, and others simply looked brutal. Some of them even looked like whip marks. The only real comparison I had that equaled her scars was Kenshin and I suspected that they could match scar for scar.

"I am going to have to tell Lee everything before Aoshi comes. It would be unfair to him otherwise. Things might get a little loud for a while, but don't mind the noise. Lee can't shout out his pain, so he throws things."

"T-throws things!" I asked with a tinge of panic. I had a mental image of what a man built like Lee was capable of throwing and I didn't like the picture.

Misao opened a standing cupboard I had in the bathing chamber that always housed a spare robe for emergencies.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt me, I think he doesn't have it in him to so much as scratch me no matter how angry he gets." Misao reached for the robe and slipped it on, instantly hiding her skin from my view. "I sometimes understand how Aoshi felt whenever I chased after him around Kyoto shouting love poems. Life is funny that way, I suppose."

"Yes, I suppose it is." I responded.

Misao slid open the bathing room door and glanced out towards what I assumed was the night sky.

"There is only a few hours of night left, you should go get some sleep. Something tells me that tomorrow is going to be as difficult for you as today was, if not more so."

I found humor in Misao's assumption. "Yeah, I think so too."

"Goodnight Kaoru." Misao slid the door shut behind her and left me to another headache.

"Yeah, goodnight." I mumbled, certain that my night would be anything but good. I felt like my new path in life was going to have to take a sharp dip downhill before it could go anywhere else.

I sighed and proceeded to get out of the bath.

* * *

Sleep was the plan, reality was a different canary altogether.

Freshly bathed, I fell gratefully into my futon and slipped easily into the kind of sleep only available to me with the assistance of large quantities of alcohol. It was a good sleep, punctuated by various strange dreams involving ducks, Yahiko and strangely enough, Saito and his cigarettes.

Annoyed by the scent, I found myself tracing it all the way to wakefulness, and cursing the bastard of a grasshopper for his smelly habit. Lying groggily in bed, I had enough awareness to recognize that I was suppose to be up soon, before I felt a tiny, tiny little chill curl up my spine.

I was fully awake, but I could still smell the cigarettes.

My mind, delightfully strained hours before, absolutely refused to consider the implications of smelling cigarettes when the only known smoker of it was pushing dead more than 4 years now.

I took a deep lungful of the scent and a tickling sense unease came over me. The scent was wrong. It was distinctly different from your everyday cigarette. It was deeper more like earth than burnt paper and I found the scent to be, nearly pleasant in comparison.

Half afraid and half angry, I dragged my sorry carcass out of bed and groped blindly for my bokken. Nice smelling or not, someone was smoking on my property and there would be no rest for me until I find out who or what is doing it.

Curiosity is a pain that way.

Grumbling my way to my bedroom door, I took a deep, fortifying breath and pushed it open.

Only to be greeted by the dark form of Misao perched on the wooden step that encircled the compound of the house. Some distance from the shadow of her lips, glowed the dim arch of a delicate pipe (1).

"Good morning sunshine." Misao said, teeth gripping her pipe and eyes still cast toward the high wall around my dojo's property. My bedroom faced east so I assumed she was seated there to observe the sunrise.

The dark purple haze over the wall indicated that the sun would not be long in rising, and for the fist time in years, I wanted to greet it properly. In line with my new philosophy of 'me first' I followed my desire.

"Good morning yourself. Isn't it a bit early to be smoking, or are you following in the footsteps of everyone's favorite cop? Tell me seriously, did you sleep at all?" I asked as I sat myself next to her. The floorboards were cold but it was not unbearable.

Misao grinned, and plucked the dark pipe from her lips and blew a perfect smoke ring. The pipe itself was an elegant thing, a dark shiny color, it had delicate engravings of flowers and vines from the lip to the bowl. It was feminine and more importantly, it looked expensive.

"I always make it a point to see the sunrise. It gives me a little kick to get something burning before the sun gets to it. Saito had something when he picked up a cig. Stuck on a ship soaking wet and with no burning fire, lighting up a pipe is plenty warming." She punctuated her words with another puff.

I sighed and leaned back against the pillar. The first streaks of light were just peeking over the wall and I closed my eyes to savor the warmth.

"My presence here would have already been reported to Aoshi. I give you three bets that we'll be seeing him within the day. He is part blood hound like that." Misao intoned with another little puff from her pipe.

I sighed. I had no idea what Aoshi's reaction to Misao's news would be, but I suspected that it wouldn't be pretty. "'Within the day', as a timeframe would be…?"

Misao shrugged "If he is coming down from Kyoto, travel time plus whatever cover he is going to need, he might be here at the earliest, late this evening."

Ok, that meant that I could have my daytime classes as usual but Enishi's evening round would have to be postponed. He was not too happy about canceling our session last night, but relented at my insistence. I figured to get tonight free would be a nightmare.

So much bloodshed to stop, so little time.

"Wishful thinking."

I jumped, I suspect, a full meter into the air when I heard the low rough voice that I knew was going to be my personal commentary in hell.

Enishi appeared in his usual style, melting out of the meager shadows at the base of my dawn lit garden wall. I was certain the man had ninja or vampire blood of some kind that forced him to lurk in places that no normal person would lurk.

Or perhaps he was just insane.

Dressed in his usual training garb, I could _feel_ Misao quirk her eyebrow in question at me as she observed the amount of skin that her boss was revealing. I could comfortably admit that Enishi was getting back to his usual amazing form, but in the soft glowing sunlight, he looked like something you'd like to eat off a plate.

I really didn't think that.

Really didn't?

Humm….why couldn't I think that again?

I was a woman, he was a man. (He was my student and a psychopath to top it off, but no man was perfect after all). Why couldn't I have had a purely aesthetic appreciation for his very edible body?

As he moved closer to the both of us, his scent, the dark spicy fragrance that I scrubbed raw from my skin some hours ago coiled itself into my mind, and quite rudely, stayed there. Damn it, the man didn't only look like dessert he had to _smell_ like it as well?

I was beginning to feel aggravated.

"Aww come on boss, I know him. A whole day would be far too long for him. Aoshi can move quite a bit when he isn't meditating."

.Soon.

Ok I gave myself a sound mental slap. Enough drooling like some idiotic teenager over the too hot student-who-is-also-a-psycho.

"Shinimuri Aoshi will arrive at the Kamiya residence before mid day today." Like the toll of the new year bell, Enishi spoke like he was reciting a prophesy.

"You sure?" Misao asked sounding merely curious.

"Yes." He answered. "There has been movement in the Oniwabashu. People have been put on active duty in large numbers. Numbers too large for a simple escort." Enishi continued. "Most of them seem to be headed to several locations, mainly roads going in and out of Tokyo."

"Spy business?" I asked hopefully.

"More like stalking someone. Chances are they are looking for her." Enishi gestured towards Misao. "Spies don't take well to betrayal by other spies."

"Torture and death on conviction." Misao explained. She seemed ridiculously calm considering the circumstances and I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one around these parts to actually_ show _what I was thinking on my face.

"Shit." I said, because I thought_ someone _was going to have to say it.

"If they are looking for me on the roads in and out of Tokyo it shows two things. One, that they don't know where exactly I am. And two, Aoshi can no longer be fully in charge of the Oniwabashu. He wouldn't snitch on me, that goes without question. So it's more likely that he is the one being snitched on." Misao said as she tapped her chin wonderingly.

"I smell the stench of that bastard Tamaki all over this." She finished.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked because it was always good to have a second and third opinion on the matter and I thought my suggestion of 'give me more sake!' wouldn't be much appreciated. I suspected that I was going to become an alcoholic.

"Nothing." And there you have it ladies and gentlemen, Enishi's suggestion for crisis management.

"Nothing?! So we sit here and twiddle our thumbs while half of Japans ninjas crawl about Tokyo with every intention of putting a full stop to Misao's life?!"

Enishi blinked very deliberately in my direction.

"Yes." Enishi monotoned, "I have already informed your students about your canceled classes. A sudden illness of a distant relative, or some such, of yours and forced you rush off to Hokaido to go play nurse." Enishi tugged out a folded sheet of paper from his pants pocket and smoothly flicked it towards me. "The notice has already been delivered to their individual houses."

"What! You've canceled my classes?! What the HELL for?" I grabbed the note with little trouble and nearly ripped it in half when I unfolded it. It was a formal, written notice, done in MY handwriting and ended with the red ink of MY Dojo's seal.

My handwriting.

My Dojo's seal.

My life.

I stood up, because when you were irritated and wanted to shout very loudly, it always helped that the person you were shouting at did not have to look too far down to see you.

"Who the hell, Who the HELL gave you the right to decide that all by yourself?"

It was like watching a dam break. I was aware that bit by bit my life was changing, if only temporarily. But Enishi's influence in it was unacceptable. My decisions were my own, and always have been. I fought tooth and nail for** that** much independence and I didn't appreciate his high handed treatment of something that was very important to me.

And I didn't like the fact that he was able to forge my handwriting and seal.

Enishi paused, blinked and then proceeded to make a grand production of crossing his arms and straightening his glasses. I recognized the stance. It was the stance Kenji adopted when he became a teenager and decided that he 'knew better than his mother'. It was, safe to say, a very short phase of his life.

"You did. I am merely keeping to our bargain."

"Bargain? What bargain? I don't remember making a bargain about you taking over my life!"

He arched a fine brow and continued on with a nearly teasing upward flick of lip at the corner of his mouth.

It was a smirk.

The bastard was smirking! I had gone past seeing red, I was looking right through purple!

"Such a short memory Kaoru. Did you or did you not promise to provide me with a distraction so long as it kept your students out of harms way?" I knew that drawl. I recognized that switch in tone and I was also made aware of the tingly feeling it caused along my backbone.

I knew that if I looked him in the eye, I would see in them a distinct and deep shade of blue. The same shade of blue that allowed him to manhandle me last night. Damn, didn't that thought open up a whole other jar of tingly feelings.

And then something clicked.

Oh shit.

I remembered the conversation we had the last evening. The conversation that described how willing I was to be strapped to the sacrificial table so long as it stopped Enishi from doing something stupid and violent towards Take, or any other of my darling pupils.

stupidstupisstupid Kaoru!

"I said that to keep YOU away from my students!"

"So," He drawled, I felt like a rat trapped in little cage just waiting the slam of the door, "does that mean you are only willing to trade payment if the threat from me? Even** if** I have the ability to shield your students from being stuck in the middle of localized war with a group of highly trained, highly bloodthirsty, ninjas?"

Bang goes that door.

Misao coughed at the description 'blood thirsty ninjas' but otherwise remained a wide eyed and very interested observer. Lucky her.

"I _could _put them in a very real threat, provided by myself, as per our discussion, if you prefer."

Enishi's idea of 'threat' would probably constitute as anything short of death; miming, removal of body parts, psychological trauma, all of which were not strictly deadly but easily inflicted. He did not do things by halves and I doubt he was going to start now.

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

Enishi grin grew into a toothy (and very creepy) smile. "I am just reminding you that I am not without my own assets. You want your students safe? I can provide that. You want your dojo safe? I can do that too. But I don't work for free. And I am fully capable of…_enforcing_ my trade agreements. I will not threaten unless I have to. Don't make me Kaoru."

Trade agreements! What was I, some kind of ship? Some tobacco carrying barge for him to bully and badger as he saw fit? I didn't appreciate the description thank you very much! Was it too much for a woman to be compared to something_ pretty_ for **once** in her lifetime? Perhaps a flower or a katana or something!

"Agreement?! My agreeing to be a 'distraction' had nothing to do with trade whatsoever. You were holding my students ransom! And what do you mean distraction anyway! Playing shogi could be counted as a distraction. Heck, me setting fire to your hair could be counted as a distraction!"

His eyes darkened further at the word 'distraction'. His eyes flickered over me, going from the base of my uncovered feet to the tip of my sleep mused hair. "I could think of several, very deliberate, translations of the word." He flicked his gaze to meet mine once again and cooled somewhat.

"In the terms of this agreement, I mean it in the most literal of its description. I would like to formally tie you into an Accord. Its just a change of title, we could go on as we have for the last few weeks or it could change, but now, you would be bonded to me as an employee to an employer."

I looked away and bit my lip. Despite the obvious offer, I knew Enishi didn't want sex. If that's what he wanted, last night would have been taken to another level altogether. Ok, I wasn't stupid enough to think that sex was not a part of it, perhaps a larger-than-I-was-comfortable-with part of it, but not the whole thing. He wanted me to be…willing, I guess. Not just 'there' He wanted me to choose. And I suspected he didn't want me to be guilty about it.

Guilt was a big thing for Enishi.

This was not a proposition; it was an 'agreement'. He was setting up the framework for a… a conquering, perhaps even a seduction. He wanted a promise from me not to run away. My leaving him would probably be one of his biggest fears if he was beginning to put me on the same level as his sister (which was disturbing in its own right). If he had to hold some of my students ransom to do it…I could chalk that up to his insane and violent tendencies.

Enishi took the terms 'shy' and 'insecure' to new heights.

"I've been doing all that already, I don't have to be _sworn _into it!"

Enishi sighed and shook his head. "So long as you are not bonded to me, you are unspoken for in the underground. Anyone could do whatever they wanted with you and I would not be able to openly defend you. If I cannot defend you, I leave a flank of my own open to attack."

The idea popped into my mind unbidden, uninvited but at exactly at the right time. If I was going to put my desires first, beyond anything in my life, this would be the perfect place to prove it.

The situation and crazy threats aside, what did **I** want?

**I** wanted my students safe. I enjoyed teaching and I loved them as though they were my own.

Would I be willing to do what it took to ensure Enishi's corporation?

…Yes…

But not without a little payback.

No one said I couldn't have my own fun at his expense. Misao wasn't the only one with wide open ears at the sailor docks.

"Fine." I spat. "So long as I decide what I am willing and not willing to do, I agree to you acor-thingy. But I want it remembered that I am doing this under blackmail."

Enishi smirked and his eyes flashed back to their usual, cynical, turquoise. "Agreed. Where I come from, blackmail or no won't matter." He looked at Misao and arched a brow. "Do you agree to bear witness to this Accord?"

Misao nodded. "I agree to bear witness to the Accord."

Wham bam thank you maam, Kaoru sold like a leg of ham.

"Congratulations Kaoru," Triumph, clear and shining, could be seen in his eyes, "you now work for the Shanghai underground."

"Whoop-de-doo." I glared at him.

"Ceremony aside, lets get to training. We missed last nights' session and I want to make up for lost time. Hangover or no, I will not let a slack trainer hold me down." Enishi continued.

Normalcy at its best.

"Who the** hell** are you calling a slack trainer?"

I pointed my bokken, still gripped in my right hand towards him. "You want to train?** Fine**! Repeat the final kata from our last class 500 times in the dojo **now**. You were sloppy at the ending and had an awful stance. I have seen little girls hold a bokken better than you did. I am going to change, and if I don't see and improvement in stance by the time I get to the dojo, you will end class be polishing my floors."

Enishi's eyes flashed eerily and seemed to harden with a murderous determination that was not there before "As you _desire_, sensei." Oooh those tingles were back!

"Now that's what a woman wants to hear!" Misao cheered. "Oh boss-man," She added before he could fully turn away, "before you go, could you call down Lee for me? I need to speak with him and if _you're_ with Kaoru she'll be fine right?"

Enishi glanced at Misao and looked away. "You have five minutes with him. He is expected to return to his post right after."

Enishi obviously knew what was coming, and he was informing Lee to fulfill his duties despite 'emotional disruptions'.

As if hearing his summons, a dark shadow dropped straight from a branch of one of my evergreen trees. Lee, fully dressed in ninja regalia was virtually unrecognizable. He looked vaguely bewildered but made his brisk way towards Misao.

I wouldn't admit it out loud under pain of death, but if I walked slightly faster than normal away from the verandah, I had very good reason to.

Some time later, as I tugged on my hakama, I heard two distinct thuds of fists hitting wood, the sound was crystal clear even from all the way from across the house.

I tried not to think too much about it.

* * *

Enishi, when not mucking about in his 'using a peace of wood to fight is stupid' mode was really quite a sight to behold. Not that I have ever had the pleasure of such a thing before this day.

Tall and sleek, Enishi worked through every stroke and move with an easy grace that made my skin burn. No improvisation, no jerky swings and best of all, no smart talk. It was like Enishi went from idiot pupil to class star overnight, and it aggravated me that all it took to change him was a legal binding contract.

I essentially sold my soul to this devil for his obedience.

Bastard.

But the thing about payback, was that it was so very very sweet.

"Your final stance ends too low." I had my arms crossed with my bokken in hand and was leaning against the open door of the dojo. It was a condescending position. One often employed by Enishi himself.

Enishi halted his swing and glared at me from the corner of his eye. "I am doing it exactly as you showed me."

Silly man.

I shook my head and smirked. The ideas flowing through my head would have given Sano palpitations. But, right here, in this room that was everything I stood for, I didn't have to care.

**I **didn't want to care.

"I would never have given that example to you. It is an amateurish mistake and one that I myself never made while learning that kata."

I could pinpoint the moment my words hit home. Enishi's eyes flashed to an impossibly pale blue and heat seemed to roll of him in waves. He straightened up, in a slow deliberate collection of moves that spoke of an infinite amount of self control chaining away an infinite amount of anger.

I had just poked a tiger in the eye, and now, it was angry.

"Really _sensei_? Then please, by all means, correct me." The words were cultured, but the tone was biting.

I shrugged, and made my way towards him. "So cocky still Enishi? Perhaps I should take your ego down a notch."

"You are welcome to try _sensei_."

As I walked towards Enishi, I reached into the upper fold of my gi and tugged out a long stretch of white bandage. I collected it from my medicine box before coming to the dojo. I had a plan that might kill two birds with one stone today.

"Perhaps a blindfold is in order here."

Enishi stared warily at the stretch of cloth in my grasp. "How will having me blindfolded prove that my stance is wrong?"

I smirked darkly at him. I could see that my unusual approach to class unnerve him. I was beginning to get a taste for all this unnerving business. I could see why he did it so often, it was quite the power rush.

"The blindfold is not for you. If you think your stance is right, then I will let you prove it. I will wear the blindfold. And we will perform the offensive and defensive version of this kata. If your strikes are able to penetrate my defense, you are correct but if my attacks are able to penetrate yours, then that will prove me right. The movements for this little battle is already set, it only matters how well we do it."

"So why the blindfold?" He asked but the flicker of interest in his eyes proved that he had already accepted the challenge.

"To prove to you that I'm not cheating."

He arched a fine brow and his eyes darkened contemplatively, but eventually agreed. "I accept on the condition that I tie the blindfold."

I had expected as much and easily nodded.

I held bandages out to him. He stood in front of me, so close to my body that I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. There was the faintest scrape of his nails against the flesh of my palm as he tugged the cloth away. It was an unnecessary touch, but sensual in its fleetingness. The tiny shiver that it sent down my spine refused to be ignored.

Far too close.

He was playing my game as well.

I looked up at him as I took a deep fortifying breath. This was a dangerous game that we were playing and I needed to brace myself for the possibility that he might snap in the middle of it. Especially if what I planned did not work as fluidly as I hoped. But all I saw in those eyes was infinite curiosity and the briefest flickers of that hunger I saw last night.

With that vision playing in my mind I closed my eyes and put my life in the hands of a murderer.

It took him a moment, but soon I felt the firm touch of cotton against my closed eyes. He wrapped the bandages tight enough to make it impossible to open my eyes but not so tight as to make me uncomfortable. It was a very experienced blindfold.

He finished with a knot and took the opportunity briefly trace a rough palm slowly against my cheek. I nearly gasped at the contact. In this new darkness I became acutely aware of Enishi's physical presence. His deep scent, nearly burning heat and rough touch became the cradle of my physical body in this sightless world.

I instinctively flicked my tongue over my lips to moisten them.

His voice was low and virtually breathy when he whispered against the shell of my ear. "What game are you playing sensei?"

I smiled to myself and ignored the question. "Shall we begin?"

He chuckled dryly in response and moved a few feet away from me. I felt the shift in air and sound and changed position accordingly.

"As you wish sensei"

His first thrust came hard and fast, the only warning I had to his movement was instinct alone. I followed through with a defensive flick of the wrist that forced his sword inappropriately high up on my own blade. I corrected my position and managed to defect his next attack fluidly.

The Kata we were performing was in essence a simple one. Made up of a series of thrusts and deflections punctuated with a shift from attack to defense poses for both fighters.

Enishi cut me no slack and I gave him none in return.

I ignored the shriek of my muscles as I flicked my sword upwards to repel another attack from him. I could feel the glee rolling off him with the heat from his body. I could taste his dark excitement in the air. It was a controlled decent into his desire for the hunt and he savored this battle as he would a real one.

My thrust forward was met with the hard tap of his own sword in defense. I used the momentum of that deflection to spin myself around and targeted my bokken to the back of his neck in one trained motion. The shift took the barest hint of a second and the cool shock of the speed was thrilling. I felt the bamboo of my bokken graze flesh before he managed to duck away from the coming blow.

The motions were set, but the speed was not. I smirked to myself as I felt the briefest flicker of annoyance in Enishi's Ki at the unnecessary speed of my attack. I thrust downwards just in time to block his attack that, like mine, was slightly faster than before.

The dance we had, spiraled faster and faster. I found my own glee rising along with the speed. I haven't been challenged like this in years and I enjoyed the way the wind whipped around me as we moved. The speed of which we were moving was beyond thought. We were functioning on pure instinct ingrained into our bodies by the practice of the kata itself.

We reached the climax of our battle, the rhythmic tapping of our blades together sped up with our excitement to reach the deciding end of our battle. I heard his pants which echoed my own and felt a vague sense of satisfaction at winding him.

The final thrust from him came with so much force in that I was hit with a strong blast of air before the blade could make contact. Instinctively, I proceeded to the next move.

A move he didn't expect, because as usual, he aimed too low.

I reached forward, using my bokken one handed to deflect his misdirected attack and used my free hand to graze, ever so lightly, against the small patch of flesh beneath his right ear.

The problem with Enishi in relation to my fighting style was that he automatically assumed that the only real damage that a bokken could do was to cause a bruise or knock the wind out of the body. Because of this he focused his defense on his throat and chest area, areas traditionally weak to such attacks.

The idiot never realized the key to Kamiya Kassin Ryu.

Pressure points.

There was a deep gurgling sound. And I shook my head accordingly. "I told you," I panted, "that you were aiming too low."

With my free hand I tugged at the ties of the blindfold and let the cotton slide its way down my face. The light was bright in the sun lit room and I blinked away the spots the sudden exposure to it caused.

Our battle lasted some minutes, long enough for the morning sunlight to stream into the dojo from the open doorways and make red tinted wood of the room seem as though it was on fire.

Several blinks after, my gaze met with the nearly glazed pair of accusing turquoise.

Enishi croaked again and blinked as he tried to move forward, or move anything at all. But he remained stuck in his final flawed strike. His eyes, the only part of him that had full movement, stared accusingly at me, half bewildered and half bloodthirsty.

I could simply imagine what was going through his head, and I knew it involved very bloody representations of what he could do to me when he was totally in full control of his faculties.

I smiled gently down at him and tapped him lightly at the tip of his nose. "You really should listen to your sensei you know."

His eyes flickered again, and I knew he was further aggravated by my teasing tone. Enishi was not a man who was often teased, at least not to his face.

"You see Enishi," I stood before him and used my fingers to manipulate his sword clenched hand to a position a few inches higher than its original. The touch of our skin caused his eyes to widen comically, "This is where your hand should have been. Because you were tying to defend your throat, you left a pressure point open for attack."

From the touch on his hand, I let my fingers slide their way up his forearm, along tense, slick, biceps, over pronounced shoulder blades to rest at the back of his neck. I brushed my fingers lingeringly against the skin there and came up very close against his ear.

"More than one pressure point can create more than one effect. You are enjoying temporary paralysis courtesy of my tap against the back of your neck. It takes some time to come into effect so I had to keep you occupied until you were fully affected. And then, I took the opportunity to stop you from suffering too much high blood pressure at your predicament by giving you another little tap." I moved my fingers to the patch of skin under his ear.

My words were soft and sensual in their own right. Having one of the most powerful men in the history of the Shanghai underground in my power, was giving me a kick like no other.

"Feeling light headed Enishi?" I brushed my hand down his cheek and let it rest against his throat in an imitation of what he did to me as he tied my blindfold. His skin was slick to the touch with sweat but seemed to burn me with its heat. His eyes darkened somewhat but still kept their wary glaze.

"Don't worry, it's a side effect of controlled blood pressure. Try fighting it too much and you **will** pass out. I don't suggest you try it."

Enishi's eyes flickered once again, this time taking on a deep blue that was flaked by amusement as well as desire. Apparently whitie here had a bit of a thing for being rendered helpless. How disturbing.

Not disturbing enough for me to quit though.

"You have this very bad habit of making assumptions about me and then having them blow up spectacularly in your face." I tapped a delicate finger just over his heart, half an inch above the dark circle of his nipple, "You assumed I would reject you as a pupil, you assumed I would meekly accept your 'accord' and worse still, you assumed that I was an inept teacher. You should quit while you're still alive Enishi." I teased, feeling more playful than I have in years.

"Just because I have not done it recently, doesn't mean I am not capable rendering anyone helpless." I gazed at him at eye level, a feat made possible only by his frozen hunched form.

Enishi's pupils were so dilated that only a thin rim of dark blue was visible. His body shivered as he tried to free himself from his full body bind, or perhaps he wanted more of the touch?

I leaned close to him, resting a good deal of my physical body against his shoulder and brought my head up against his ear. "If you wanted permission to court me Enishi, all you had to do was ask."

In a single move I planted my lips firmly against the throbbing pulse point at his throat. It was perhaps the first, intimate skin to skin touch between the two of us and its impact was instantaneous and spectacular. A ring of heat seemed to blast away from Enishi, enveloping me in both his sense and his Ki to such an extent that I felt as though I was but an entity existing within him.

It was a thrilling feeling, having something so powerful on so short a leash. It was a mean, teasing game, but Enishi wanted a 'distraction' and always I keep my word. I began softly kissing the exposed column of his throat pausing ever so often to scrape my teeth against the skin.

The light, teasing touches pulled a gurgled groan out of the paralyzed man that reverberated within the confines of the Dojo. Music to my ears.

I gently parted my lips and began to suckle on the flesh at his throat. I was perhaps enjoying my game far too much for my own good, but the salty, rich taste of his skin was becoming an addiction in its own right. The hard planes of his body had some very interesting shifts that told me just how much he was enjoying my ministrations. Driven by curiosity and fueled by confidence, I decided to do something I was never tempted to do before.

I bit down.

Hard.

Barely a second later a loud crack echoed around the Dojo. As fast as I could, I moved beyond the reach of Enishi's released body as he crumbled like a deck of cards.

The effect of my bite was instantaneous. His knees buckled as they were finally given free movement from my full body bind and he fell into a graceless kneel on the ground. Covered in sweat and panting, I observed the bent head of Enishi with a triumphed eye.

It usually took the body some minutes to get back full function after a binding but with Enishi's constitution I didn't want to take the risk of waiting that long.

" If this is what you want, the next move is yours. If it isn't, then this never happened." I turned away from his crumpled form, and sprinted out of the dojo as fast as I could. Distance was little protection when it came to Enishi, the burning itch I felt between my shoulder blades as I ran out of the dojo doors warned me that I was being watched by eyes that were such a dark blue that they were virtually black.

I suspected that Enishi would choose the first of the two options. And I instinctively knew that I would pay dearly for today.

I smiled darkly as I ran at a slow jog to the one room in the house he might have been uncomfortable sneaking into.

Let games begin.

* * *

Some distance away, unknown to me. Another pair of eyes glared hard at the large wooden gates of my dojo and wanted nothing more than to break the doors down to splinters.

Another set of games were just beginning and I was about to become the biggest pawn in a game I wanted nothing to do with.

* * *

(1) Smoking and pregnancy do not go together. Misao is smoking because at this time in history people didn't know any better. But we, in this future already know this, right??

Please contribute to the 'lets train Pugsly' fund that keeps muses where they belong (in my head). Your contributions of reviews are highly appreciated and will be worshiped for years to come.

Thank you.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N (Peeks out from behind wall) Err…hi.

I know, I know, I am about 8 months overdue and I don't really have a good reason for it. Life took over, the plot bunnies escaped, a violent plumbing accident and a freak alien abduction contributed to the absolute delay in this chapter. But on the plus side, the plot bunnies have returned and I hope to be updating more often now that they are back in line and not rambling all over the place.

As for this chapter THERE IS MORE. Its short because the next one was such a monster that if I lumped it all together it would be over 50 pages, so its kind of like Chapter 9 part 1. But as a bribe for all you wonderful people out there who have given reviews and stayed with me through my absence, I have a little gift at the end of this chap. The mysterious ghosts remain mysterious no longer.

A big thank you to **iNuyAshasAma1** (cookie for being the first reviewer), **Illico, Famelia Ly, blueangel-maggie, LordRandallsLady, WEIRDkittywwingz, Ame-Hikiana**, and **Aries200** for your reviews.

**JMai**: Thank you very much for the compliment. I used to study martial arts in high school so I kinda got some of my experience from there. I was very nervous about writing out a fight scene because I had never done one before and your positive comments are very much appreciated. Personally am a big fan of Kaoru kicking $$ and taking names, simply because I think the anime downplays that aspect of her quite a bit.

**Firalyn Tiatra**: Thank you very much for the review. I was under the impression that it was an ancient curse that was given to babies. I didn't actually know that Terry P used it. Humm…will have to browse through my collection to find it. Thanks!

**Yuya**: Thank you for your review XD. I would really rather you didn't smash your head, blood is a killer to remove from keyboards (personal experience).

**Triste1**: Thank you for consistently being with me throughout my story so far. As you can probably already tell, I am very bad at editing and I thank you for your help with that. I have decided that I will edit the previous chapters after I've finished the story simply so that I can see where my writing has come from, to what it has become. Any help you can give me with this would be very very much appreciated.

Disclaimer: What the heck you doing reading this for? Get on with the story! (Not mine)

_Italics_:Stand for memory

**Bold** : For voice effect.

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Chapter 9:

**From Tigers to Deathtraps: The Joys of Being Impulsive. **

I ran.

I ran as fast and as swiftly as I could. The sharp thrill of having Enishi under my power fueled me with ungodly speed and my steps seemed to cover acres in a stride. The mixture of power, excitement and a darker flicker of something else swirled menacingly in my chest. I wanted to throw my head back laugh with the wind. I nearly wished I was mad enough to do it.

But if there was anything I was sure of right now, it was that I was sane.

"sen-OOf."

Something white and vaguely humanoid bounced off my faster-than-light body. In the sharp bight glow that was residing in my head, I couldn't bring myself to care. Was it a person? A spirit? A figment of my imagination? Didn't make a difference now did it?

I had just baited the White Tiger of Shanghai. And lived!

I should be dancing in the streets in celebration!

I should place a plaque above my dojo door!

I should…..get back to reality.

I had bested him in this battle, but I knew I had only baited the tiger to win the war. Despite my euphoria, part of my mind had planed for this eventuality of running away from what could very well be an angry psychopath on the warpath. Some people think avoiding the inevitable is a waste of time. Those people obviously didn't have Enishi at the other end of 'inevitable'.

My feet took me to the one room that had always been a source of great conflict and comfort to me. It was an island of stillness in my turbulent mind and heart. I ran towards, and then into, what used to be Kenshin's room.

If Enishi was still haunted by his past, Kenshin would be the one man's memory he would not want to evoke.

As I slid the smooth soji shut behind me, my knees buckled and I fell panting into a graceless sprawl on the floor. Kenshin's room didn't have a window, so the only light came from the muted sunlight through the rice paper doors behind me. The room was a wash in gloomy shades of daylight and had a very eerie atmosphere that caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand in attention. There was a heavy stillness in the air, as though rain clouds were overhead, when I knew for a fact it was a clear and sunny day outside.

Oh shit. Not now.

Still panting, I instinctively plastered myself against the rice paper wall and tried to burn holes into the shadowed corners of the room with my searching gaze.

The room was bare, virtually empty as years of cleaning had removed everything but the memories. When Kenshin died, Kenji was no more than 8 years old, and I was the widowed mother of a child with a dead father he never liked. I had no choice but to be painfully his death, what could be kept of him was neatly wrapped and preserved in the store room for the day Kenji decided to go looking.

Seconds later, they began to appear.

Megumi was the first to arrive. Fading to life five feet away from me, she was the very picture of traditional elegance and grace as she knelt. The core of me grew cold to see that despite her beauty, she was virtually translucent. Her physical presence was nothing more than tiny puffs of colored air. The only part of her that looked solid was her face. Her eyes were two slits of darkness that were somewhat less than Megumi-ish. This was different.

Sano and Yahiko were next, appearing from the pale shadows of this room, both standing straight and looking forward with an intense silence, and seemed as real as the fleeting morning mist.

The last to arrive was Kenshin. He folded himself into his usual kneel, and looked pleasantly around his room with mild interest. His bangs were low on his face, and hid his direct gaze from me. His knees seemed hardly to touch the ground.

This was_ wrong_.

The four gathered specters were faces and voices that I knew most of my adult life. Every crease, every fold every vocal pitch was familiar. But today there was an alien look upon their faces that I could not read.

"**So you know**."

I instinctively ducked my head at the strange sound, as though preparing for an attack. I didn't recognize the voice. It was dark, gravely with a tilting accent that was perhaps foreign. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It also echoed in the same way Tomoe's voice did that first night. The voice was a strange mix of male and female. My eyes searched the few bare centimeters of floor for a fifth hazy body, but there was no one else.

"**You have broken through the glamour. I apologize if this form disturbs you, but this is already pushing your abilities**." It was Megumi's lips that moved, but it wasn't her voice that came out. The other three figures just stared out blankly at me, I had the impression that they were linked somehow. It seemed, though Megumi was the one speaking, it was all of their voices that I heard.

My blood, still burning from my kendo session with Enishi, was instantly replaced with liquid ice. This was not my family, ghost or not.

"Who the hell are you?" My voice quivered slightly, and was no more than a whisper. If I could look at myself, I was sure that I was sheet pale and wide eyed in a very unpleasant way.

"**Who, would not be the right question."** Sano mimed, with that same eerie voice. His were unblinking and emotionless.

"Then…what are you?" I asked again. I was so cold with fear right now, I was certain my toes were turning blue.

Kenshin tilted his head in what would have been a quizzical way, had I not caught sight of his eyes. They were a shade of pure sunlight. I was having an audience with Battousai, not Kenshin.

"**What do you think we are, Kaoru?" **Sano asked, but I couldn't draw my eyes away from Kenshi- no the Battousai's. I had never seen him in this way before, and the part of me that would always belong to Kenshin drank up the sight.

"I-I don't know."

Yahiko sighed, which sounded like the rustle of leaves in an angry breeze. **"Let me give you a hint Kamiaya-san. Take a good look at each of us, a very good look. And tell me what you see."**

It was the single most unnerving thing, to hear Yahiko (even if it was just his look alike) use my full name. But I was beginning to get the idea that perhaps in this room, at this time, something nearly…supernatural was coming to pass.

I blinked a few times, and looked hard at the four of them. I looked as hard as I dared.

They seemed the same as they usually did. The exact same faces that have been with me close to two years now. Well…nearly the same except for Kenshin's golden eyes.

His eyes flashed dangerously, going to a tiny slit that looked like the business end of a Katana. I frowned then. Megumi's eyes were similar to his. Her dark onyx eyes were tiny pinpricks of darkness and steel.

The puzzle pieces began to fall terrifyingly into place.

Yahiko stood hunched, hands hidden and eyes shifty and alert for trouble. They were the eyes of the thief he was when we met. They were the eyes of a pickpocket.

Sano was languid. A fluid form against the wall, he was all quiet grace and leashed temper. This was a fighter who picked his battles for pure glee and no other purpose.

This was not the Ahau. This was the Zanza.

Kenshin was channeling his inner battousai

Yahiko was living out his inner thief

Sano stretched out his inner brawler

And Megumi…..

Megumi gazed with the eyes of an opium dealer.

These facets were a part of my companions that I knew little about, if anything. This was the aspects of them that were made up of disappointments and the hurts of their broken lives.

This was a copy of my family at their worst.

These figures were not my family. I had doubts they were human at all. They were dark, tainted even. They were the ghosts of their inner demons they had to exorcise throughout their lives. Their actions, as the hitokiri, brawler, opium dealer and yakuza agent, destroyed the lives of others.

Destroyed the lives…

"You are not ghosts." I sounded a thousand miles away from my body, but my mind was hard at work. I had all the pieces, now I had to put together the picture. "At lest not of the dead. Most of you are still alive in the real world."

Megumi smiled, or tried to at least. Somehow a smile from a half formed spirit-cloud, did not have the calming effect it should have.

"You are not figments of my imagination." I continued. The thoughts and ideas passed through my mouth even as the bounced about in my mind. "If I was insane, my madness would be limited to only what I knew or could imagine at the time. Tomoe warned me that Enishi was coming, Yahiko told me about the dagger that Misao held. Real life things, things I could not have otherwise known or made up."

"And…" I continued, feeling the faintest pangs of nervousness, "If you were meant to be God given punishment for where I failed with each of you." I looked up and gazed directly at Kenshin, "what happened between me and Enishi in the dojo would never have come to pass without at least one of you appearing."

This time, it was Battousai who smiled. That flash of teeth was a whole other set of unnerving.

"**We do not usually interfere with the matters of the living. What you do with the tiger is none of our concern.**" He growled, because if you were Battousai, eerie voice or not, you growled everything you said.

Hold up. The living? The matters of the living?

"So does that mean you interfere with matters of…the dead?" Even as I said it, the idea took a moment to actually carry meaning in my own ears.

Battousai smiled showing teeth that perhaps looked sharper than they had a second before.

If possible I inched my way even closer against the shoji behind me. "What the hell are you?"

The not-Yahiko shrugged, **"You have to figure it out for yourself. You can only know as much as you are willing to comprehend, no more, no less."**

Oh great. Now these guys were giving me Zen advice.

"**We have met before Kaoru. You have seen others speak to us. And you have also seen us at work. You merely choose not to remember." **Megumi, the new-sage-in-training chimed in. She sounded nearly annoyed.

"I think I would remember someone talking to thin ai-" I stopped the sentence midway. I new thought occurred to me. Or rather a memory.

.

.

"_Ne-Miyo, Kao-hime turned out just like you said she would; stronger than any boy and as beautiful as her mother." _

_I gritted my teeth so I wouldn't break down into disgraceful sobs in front of him. The government healer had already left the room. Before he walked out, I was briskly informed that the injuries Kamiaya Koshijiro sustained in battle were beyond the talents of a healer and that I should make preparations for his last rites. The best the nervous looking man could do before leaving was to bandage the hole in his gut up, to slow down the bleeding. My father was dying before my eyes and there was nothing I could do about it. _

_His glazed brown eyes turned to me, and he smiled. His pale face doted with sweat seemed but a shadow of the golden indestructible man he once was. _

"_Yes Miyo, I am so very proud of her." He rolled his eyes to gaze at the empty edge of his futon. He smiled and then nodded his head weakly as though he received a reply. _

_I broke down then. Weeping into my palms as my father continued on in his delusion. _

_Miyo was my mothers' name. _

_She died when I was born. _

_._

_._

"No." I whispered. But already the links were forming. These –things-, they were not ghosts because they made ghosts. They were not imaginings because they were visions. They were entities in changing skin that morphed into any form they wished, for those destined to see them at deaths door. The name slipped out without my even knowing it.

"Shinigami."

I was having an audience with the gods of death.

As a single unit, they all smiled.

Shock was perhaps the wrong word to describe it. I felt numb, detached from my body with a mind far far away from this insanity. In some shy selfish part of my mind, only one question bubbled up.

"Am I going to die?"

Megumi looked me in the eye. The steel in her gaze stabbed at my very heart with their calculating nature. Her face was as hard and cold as winter stone.

"Yes."

* * *

Miyo- beautiful child.

The continuation for this will probably be up this weekend (fingers crossed). See ya'll then!

Ps: review review review!


	10. Chapter 10

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YES! Whoop Whoop! The end is near (and when I say near I mean under 10 chapters to come)! I think this plot bunny has gone on for far too long and I have to sliver in some bits of typing between juggling real life and uni assignments from hell. Things are going to heat up now and there will be ACTION, ROMANCE, and more FUNNY. XXD.

Thank you to **LordRandallsLady, WEIRDkittywwingz, Angie-san, miniwoo, Illegitimi (X 4 ! *cheers*)** and **blueagnel-maggie.**

I am in the process of looking for a beta reader to help me go through the mammoth job of re-writing this monster so that it no longer acts like an absolute grammatical disgrace (which it currently is). So anyone who might possibly be interested in helping me out with this would be very much appreciated.

No I am not high. I am running on no sleep, 6 cups of coffee and 2 shots of espresso. I am positively BOUNCING!

Disclaimer: It ain't mine *whoop whoop*. Never will be *whoop whoop*.

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Chapter 10 :**Pass Along the Discomfort. **

"Am I going to die?"

Megumi looked me in the eye. The steel in her gaze stabbed at my very heart with their calculating nature. Her face was as hard and cold as winter stone.

"**Yes." **

I had a mental trip.

I didn't expect conformation. No one would expect a blatant conformation of their untimely demise. It was like coming home after a days work and hearing 'Hello and welcome, your whole family burnt to a mangled bloody crisp in a tragic fire, but feel free to have some sushi on your way out'.

It just was not done.

"_Yes_?" I asked, a little shrilly, like an idiot.

Megumi just stared unblinking and unmoved. She obviously didn't have a change of opinion.

"You're lying!" In my numbness, I fell into the first refuge of the weak, denial. "You're bloody lying! No one can know things like that! There is no way you can be whatever the hell you claim to be. There. Is. No. Way!" I pounded my fist into the floor with every word.

"**We do not lie. It serves no purpose. "**She replied calmly.

Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Megumi's face seemed to be changing. Her cheeks became sunken and the blacks of her eyes seem to be leaking out into the whites. Her pale skin took on a yellow tinge that made her look sickly.

I desperately combed my mind for anything I could remember about the Shinigami stories and was cursing myself a thousand kinds of stupid for not paying more attention to the tales when I was a child.

From that far away place my mind had traveled to, I vaguely noticed that I was shaking and that my nails were pushing painfully into my palms. Another, darker part of me whispered that I was the one who brought this on. It was only yesterday that I had claimed to have nothing to loose. Today death came down to tell me that I was wrong.

But I couldn't, I wouldn't accept it. I had too much to do. I still had a life to live. I still had to be here for my son, my students, my dojo. I still had too much to live for. I had Misao, Take and Even god dammed Enishi. I desperately wanted to know where that game with him could go.

"You, are a bunch of lying piles of shit." I hissed out. I wouldn't accept it.

My life, my choice; no half assed ghosts were going to tell me when I was going to die. I would goddamn choose it for my self. NO ONE told Kamiaya Kaoru what to do. Not even 'death'.

"_You. Will. Not. _Tell me how to live. _You. Will. Not._ Tell me how to die. I have fucking bigger fish to fry. If you are here to gather my soul for whatever, you're going to have to fight me for it!" I was at rock bottom, but damn this all, I was going to claw my way up.

I was expecting them to be angry, I was expecting to be killed on the spot but what happened scared me more than the first two options. As one, they smiled.

Like Megumi, Kenshin's face had changed too. His teeth were definitely sharpened and looked like knives lining the cave of his mouth. His golden eyes had bled out completely, covering the whites of his eyes with gold. It gave him the gaze of a lizard; Or perhaps a dragon.

Sano seemed thinner, taller, with a black fog-like smudge edging his figure. It made him seem like a beast of shadows. Though mostly hidden by the fog, I caught sight of what could have been bony claws at the end of his arms.

Yahiko lost what little height he had and shrank to about the height of my knee. He became round like a ball, but with pointy ears and eyes that were blood red. His teeth gave Kenshin's new set, a run for their money.

"**Very good Kamiaya-san, that is exactly what we wanted to hear." **They had given up all pretence of individual speech. None of their mouths moved, but I heard that same disturbing voice still.

These new, bastardized faces of my loved ones scared me more than anything else. These were faces I loved, faces were with me for years thought hardship and ease. It felt like watching someone spit on my fathers grave as they morphed into beasts. "Stop it! Whatever you are doing to their faces, stop it now. Go back to what you were. I don't want to see this!"

They paused, and Yahiko cocked his head in the way of a quizzical dog. **"But did you not wish to know what we are? You did not believe us when you learnt of it, so perhaps we should show you."**

"DON'T! I don't care what you are anymore. I just don't want this. Go back to how you were."

Kenshin shook his head. **"What has been seen cannot be unlearnt. You have a guess as to what we are, but you know not our full purpose."**

"**But for your sake of mind, we shall do as you ask."**

And just like that, they were back to who I remember. Their faces unchanged by any supernatural taint.

Sano, distinct and un-fogged, scratched at his chin. "Jou chan, you are playin' in _deep fields_." The booming voice was gone, and all that remained was a creature pretending to be Sano, right down to the voice and gesturing. I knew it was a pretence, an act if you will. I knew his real face was the stuff of nightmares. But I nearly burst into tears when I heard that old familiar drawl return.

Megumi scoffed, and her normal, white and maroon eyes flashed as they always did when she was annoyed. "Why is it humans always seem to have this amazing ability to ignore what is right in front of them? One shielding charm later and the world is its normal place again. You are aware Tanuki, that this shift of face changes nothing. You still have four death gods sitting in your presence?"

I swallowed thickly. "Yes. But at least now I can't think!" And it was true. Some primal part of me recognized those faces as 'safe' despite proof otherwise. And my mind, in this new climate returned to me to chew on a thought.

"Really? Thinkin' about what Busu?" Yahiko sneered.

I eyed all of them with distrust, waiting for any hint that could prove me wrong. "About why there are four 'shinigami' here to take one soul when my father only had one."

The thought had been niggling in the back of my mind. And if they couldn't tell me the whole thing, I was just going to have to tell them my suspicions and have them shoot down and agree with every one of them individually. "Unless there are four lives meant to go, not just one."

Sano smirked, and slumped against the wall. "Ten points to Jou-chan! There may be hope for you yet!"

I snapped my eyes shut and took a deep breath. The stabbing feeling of unease only got sharper in my chest. I had not wanted to be right about this.

"Why me?" I asked as I opened my eyes. "Why show yourself to me? Was it because I was not normal? Was a surrounded by too much death that I became tainted? **Why Me**?"

Kenshin cleared his throat softly and my eyes automatically fell to him, violet eyes and all. "Not all that comes to you is meant to be punishment Kaoru-dono. Fortune comes in strange forms." He did not speak through a mouth that was filled with knives, but he did speak in circles.

"Are you telling me this is meant to be a _gift_?!" In my ears, the loud thump of my heart got progressively louder with every word that seemed to be exchanged.

"Curses are only given to those who earn them Busu. You have no blood on your hands and no death on your conscience. You have no reason to be cursed, by death no less." In my ears, the thud of my heart grew louder and louder.

"If this is a gift, to see death. To foretell the deaths of those here, what kind of twisted god is this!" A strange voice whispered form the back of my mind. It sounded suspiciously like Enishi's and whispered to me to think. Think why the information was served to me at this point in time and not before.

"Think Tanuki!" Megumi ordered.

I could feel the puzzle pieces in my hand, all I had to do was put them in place.

"A gift is only good if you can use it…" I mumbled, trying to place my thoughts, "Information is used to change things…or stop something from happening…" The thunderous beating of my heart drowned out all thought….so close….I could taste the answer on the tip of my tongue.

There was a loud, earth shattering bang.

And I was blinded by sunlight.

* * *

"Sorry, Sorry, Sorry sensei. I tried to come as fast as I could, but my father wouldn't let me leave till I finished at the docks!"

I blinked away the sunlight and tried to make sense of the talking shadow blob in the doorway. The grey blob shifted, as though it was thoroughly uncomfortable and it seemed to be panting.

I blinked again a few times, squinted, and then blinked again. Finally the sharp stabs of sunlight faded to a bearable sight. The blob took a well recognized shape and color.

Take-kun.

I had forgotten that he was meant to come to the dojo at first light. Looking at the way the sun was streaming behind him, it was likely that it was now mid morning. He was three hours late.

"Take-kun?" I asked…my mind still somewhat hazy with shock.

"Sensei are you alright? Did anything happen last night? I met up with Misao-san said you were in the dojo, but you were running out and you shove_ hard_ sensei. I was running to your room when I heard you speaking to someone here….is there something you need to tell me?" Take spoke like a racing train when he was nervous or worried. It was only thanks to the years of listening to him, that I understood him at all.

I looked to the blank wall and now empty room around me. They had left. And I was supposed to put together the pieces they had given me all by myself.

"Damn it, you have to worst timing you know." I grumbled and glared at Take for good measure. The thought that I was so close to completing had long since evaporated from the fringes of my mind.

Take eyed me suspiciously. "Are you sure you're ok? Some idiot ripped through the sails of four of my fathers' ships and I had to stay back and organize the new ones to be delivered. I had to check up on Mana-chan on my way here. Sorry if I am late, but if the creepy white haired bastard was responsible for my fathers' ships, I'd eat my own bokken before I let him near her."

Kimihiro Manami(1) was Take's sweetheart for close to a year now. Her father, who also had a kendo dojo, approved of Take…about as much as a father could approve of a man trying to court his only daughter. Kimihiro-san insisted that Take take on the mantle of assistant master for two years before requesting Manami's hand in marriage. Take thought the man was being a pain in the ass. I knew Take was being groomed to take over Kimihiro-san's dojo.

Take's father did not like the idea one bit. He had plans for his son that involved ships, trade and the modern world. Take more or less told the man to go drown himself at every opportunity he could.

If Take thought Enishi had a vendetta against him, I was not surprised that he would check up on Manami's wellbeing before my own.

"I'm fine, I told you."

"Well you bloody well shouldn't be!" Take shrieked, obviously reaching the end point on his patience. "You have the head of the Shanghai underground lurking in your kitchen, you have the living version of a nightmare in your garden trees and you have a woman with more knives than half of Tokyo at your front door. What part of that is fine?!"

I blinked.

Take blinked.

I raised a fine brow.

Take blushed, "Ok….I might be a little high strung right now but doesn't mean that I'm wrong."

"Take-kun, you are so high strung, you are beginning to sound like a woman."

"Better a woman than dead! Why were you running from the dojo and who were you talking to, you didn't answer my question!" Take stomped. He hasn't stopped since he was fourteen and just had just been disarmed by a bare handed Yahiko in class.

I sighed. Keeping Take safe was going to be harder than I thought. "I was running from the dojo for my health as exercise and I was talking to myself. I do it sometimes to think." Both statements true. Running from a testy Enishi could only be good for me and the shinigami's themselves said they weren't a 'who' they were a 'what'. I love semantics.

"Really?" Sarcasm positively dripped from his voice. "That's great because Misao-san is freaking out outside because some weird guy is nearly here and I don't think he is coming here to sell you the latest type silk underwear."

"Strange guy?" my mind was already racing even as my body rose from it's kneel. "Did she say anything else?"

Take snorted. "Yeah, he said something about making sure that the ice-man was nearly here, and that he was running. Some fancy ninja code term for 'prepare for battle' I assu-"

I was out the door before he finished.

* * *

When I got to the front gate, an armed and ready Misao, and more surprisingly, a fully dressed Enishi were already waiting.

I tried my best not to look directly at him and focus solely on Misao. But I couldn't help but catch that feral twist of his lips that flashed teeth in either a very dangerous smirk or a deadly snarl.

Figures, the two emotions were probably the same for the man.

"What's going on?" I asked as I slowed down from my sprint. Behind me Take shadowed my speed.

Misao's eyes didn't move from its gaze on the upper edges of my closed front door. "Aoshi sent a pigeon ahead. He has company, and he's trying to waylay them with minimal damage." Her hand gripped a dagger at her hip so hard her knuckles were white.

I frowned. This did not sound good.

"Didn't you say that this Aoshi character was the head of a ninja clan of his own? Why would his own clan be hunting him down? Is it some kind of ninja mutiny?" Take asked. His eyebrows seemed to twitch strangely whenever he said the word 'ninja'. The poor boy was not used to so much drama at one go, and the addition of creepy gang leaders and ex-ninja's heads was making this day seem more and more like an excerpt of the two sen novels sold at the market.

Misao's eyes flickered to Take, and her lips twisted to a dark snarl. "The Oniwabashu is not responsible for this debacle. We don't know who is, but most likely it is another clan altogether. This is an attack, not a mutiny. Our ninjas' would die before they harm a hair on the Okashira's head, and have done so for generations. I would suggest you be very careful whose clan you insult."

Take took a careful step back from the steel in Misao's voice and I quietly noted the use of the word 'our ninja's' and saved it for later study. So perhaps Misao wasn't as free from her past as she would have liked us to believe.

There was a sudden flicker of movement. Nothing more than a brief flash of darkness form the peripherals of my sight, before it faded away to nothingness.

The only reason I was aware that Misao moved was because one moment she was there and the next she was not. I tensed, prepared for battle but fully aware that this was out of my league. This was like Kenshin's fights all over again. I knew that I was a decent fighter, but I was no war god. In flickers of black against the blue sky I saw the two points converge and disengage with rapid succession. If it wasn't for the fact that it was a battle, I would have sworn that this was a show of aerial gymnastics.

The two dots seemed equal in speed and strength and I found myself holding my breath and whispering out a prayer for Misao. I was so focused on the battle that I completely missed his movements until he spoke.

"Interesting moves you have there sensei." He whispered, lips inches from the shell of my ear.

I jumped, or would have if his hand hadn't been clamped around my waist. It was both a form of control and a method of discretion. From his position and at a quick glance, Take would have only seen Enishi standing behind me, a bit closer than usual, but nothing to shout home about. Any sharp twitch or move from me would have drawn Take's attention from the moving fighters. And if anything, I didn't want Take involved in this part of my game. So I was motionless and bound firmer than if Enishi tied me with rope.

Ironic that Enishi managed to get me in the identical state that he was only minutes earlier. This must have appealed to his sadistic side having me helpless in not only one but two ways. Helpless in the battle above me and helpless to stop him beside me. My eyes never wavered from their sight of the aerial battle, but my mind was very firmly on his body, on his heat.

And boy did he burn.

"How does the battle taste to you sensei?" Enishi's damp breath ticked the shell of my ear. "Do you feel their passion, their desire so very much like lust, but than again so much more. Or do you just see the outcome, the victor and the dead body." His hand, large and burning hot, moved down to the first bit of curve on my hip and then slid slowly back up to the very base of my bound breast. His slid this path over and over. "This is my world Kaoru. This is my game. We don't play with wooden swords, we don't shoot with empty guns. If you make a threat, you keep it. Either way you end up dead eventually. That is how the game works. Are you sure you want to join in?"

One of the two figures was thrown bodily against a tree, going cleanly through the branches and nearly though the trunk. The echoing wet crack drew goose bumps from my skin. There were a few broken bones, at the very least, in that body. Despite the gory display before me, I had made my decision this morning even as I gave him my offer. Enishi was giving me a way out, an escape route before I got in too deep in his 'game'. I had already made my decision this morning. My nod came easy, so did my cringe at the violence of the fight. With nothing more than a vague annoyance I bent my arm closest to him, so as to hide my shift from Take, and put my cold palm over his caging arm.

He wasn't expecting that. If possible he tensed further. I didn't have to hide my smirk at his discomfort. Enishi thought he could intimidate me by getting physical the same way I did with him. He couldn't, not after I figured out how much he needed my acceptance. Not after I figured out how much he needed me whole, willing and in any way he could have me. That need gave me a leash on this tiger, it was a delicate leash, but one that worked.

The second spot of shadow stilled but remained half hidden by the trees. It seemed to be waiting for the tree-smashed body to move. All of us waited on bated breath for any sign of movement, from either one of them.

"Game over." His voice was cheerful but his body still tense. His arm suddenly felt like a bone breaking vice on my ribs. Perhaps his hold on me was not as domineering as it seemed. With his arm around me and his back behind me, if some rogue ninja decided to become kunai happy in my direction, he was in a defensive position. Enishi was unsure of the outcome, no matter how collected he was attempting to be.

Everything was tense until the shadow came forward and the sunlight struck its face, highlighting the tiny shoulder length braid that was uniquely a part of the new Misao.

I released a breath I didn't even know I held. Thank god she won.

"It isn't god you should thank. Thank the bastard that thought her how to use those knives, and then threw her to the wolves so that she could master them." And as fast as he had grabbed me, Enishi moved away, disengaging my arm. I hadn't known that I had spoken the words out loud but perhaps Enishi was becoming a mind reader.

I took a shocked breath at his sudden unexpected departure and the sudden insurgance of cold air against my back. And as expected, Take picked up on my sudden shift.

"Are you alright sensei?" He asked shuffling his way beside me. He kept his eyes firmly on Misao. I felt nearly ill at the thought that I had perhaps caused my student to witness his first violent death.

I nodded. Not trusting my voice at the moment and not trusting myself to look behind me either. I could virtually feel the smug radiance of his smirk burning a patch in my back. Lord knows what he would have looked like if I had to look Enishi in the eye.

In the trees, Misao did a strange ninja hop towards Mr-possibly-dead-body and picked him up like a shoulder holster. She then promptly 'flickered' into a larger and larger spot of shadow until she finally jumped over the wall and landed smoothly on the ground.

Some small fickle part of me wanted to spit fire at her for the grace that I could never truly emulate.

"Looks like we have ourselves a hostage, ladies." Misao cheeked with a grin. She was no large woman, so the black clothed body she carried was either very small or very light.

"Hostage?" Take squeaked. "You mean breaking his back against the tree didn't put it out of its suffering?"

Misao snorted and began walking her way to the entrance of my receiving room, "Please, I gave him a baby tap. He's just being a pansy." She promptly threw the body on the wooden floor of the room. The figure let out a groan and curled itself into a fetal position. "See, perfectly alive. I could have taken him out halfway through the battle, but I prefer my trophies alive and of use to me. He is fast, but way too young to have gone through full training." Misao spoke as though she was commenting on a very interesting patch of cloud.

It was then I noticed how small the figure really was. He was no more than a child!

"And," Misao continued, raising her voice strangely, "It is impolite to stare and doubly so if you don't show yourself while you do it."

I frowned and the abrupt sentence, and somewhere behind me I could feel Enishi tense.

Like watching a man and a mirror they both appeared at both extremes of my sight.

To my right stepping out a pale lump of shadow provided by my garden wall was a very tall, very pale man. He was dressed, interestingly enough in a charcoal black western suite that looked slightly rumpled.

"Shinomuri." Enishi hissed.

To my left, a short, very well known red head popped up from seemingly nowhere. Kenshin strangely enough seemed to avoid looking at me entirely and seemed to have his attention focused on Aoshi. Having death appear in the middle of the day, could not, a good thing be. I did not feel the need to analyze this. I suspected I was a little high on hormones at the time to muster enough emotion to anything but vaguely worried.

Aoshi's eyes were as hard and as sharp as I remembered them from the last time Kenshin and I made a visit to Kyoto, which was years ago now. His eyes raked over everyone gathered there. Looking over Enishi and Take with equal amount of interest. His eyes stopped their roving when they fell upon Misao.

She smirked in an eerie way that reminded me of the first night I saw her. "I knew it was you. I could smell the zen all the way from the trees. How's the quest for enlightenment going for you Aoshi-sama?" She made 'sama' sound like a taunt.

I knew things had changed over the time they were appart. I knew years could remove a person's innards and replace them with a bitter, bitter poison. In my head I could see the Misao from years ago bounce up from her crouch and promptly shine her way to Aoshi as she often did in her youth. Her eyes would be alight with the brightness of youth and young love.

This Misao sounded virtually Sano-like in comparison.

Aoshi let out a shrug.

Misao smirked. "Figured as much. So are you going to just stand there or are you getting too old to move around without help?"

He didn't have to answer that one. One second he was next to the wall, the next he was in front of the doorway. There was no in between and the man clearly didn't need any help moving whatsoever, no matter what his age.

But what I didn't count on was a third shadow appearing right behind him when he shifted to the front door. In front of him, with raised naked blade and looking about as peace loving as Saito, Lee snarled. They appeared simultaneously. I was beginning to feel positively slow and bumbling compared to these lightning bolts.

Lee stood between Aoshi and Misao and seemed to be more than willing to put strategic holes in the head of the man who broke Misao's heart.

Misao rolled her eyes, ignoring how Take and myself looked like we were about to have identical strokes.

"Down boy." Misao grumbled and put a hand out to hold him back at the shoulder. But a second before she came in contact with him, she stopped and put her hand down as though touching would burn her. Looking at Lee, he looked high strung enough to snap at the first touch. "He is friend. Not foe."

Lee continued to snarl at Aoshi, not budging so much as an inch, obviously ignoring her.

"Lee. Stand down."

Enishi's voice didn't rise beyond its normal timber but one could catch the hint of 'or else'. "Shinimori, I would encourage you too keep a distance from both Misao and Kamiaya san. I will not be responsible for Lee's action if he should feel that his charges are under threat. And I will** not** intervene."

Lovely really, less than one minute here and Aoshi was already at the receiving end of two death threats. I think I was slipping up as a hostess. Aoshi turned away from the knife before him and raised a cultured eyebrow at Enishi as though to say 'him and what army'? Aoshi was clearly still a man of few words.

I sighed as Lee lowered his knife but very obviously did not sheathe it. I stepped forward because no one was doing anything polite right now and I figured since it was my house and I obviously had to remind them that I enforced a standard of behavior.

"Aoshi-san," I said, as cheerfully as I could. "It is good to see you." From this distance, I could see twin streaks of white hair at his temples and age lines beginning to deepen on his face. Aoshi was beginning to show his age of nearly 50, though not too much.

He turned his gaze at me. "Kamiaya-san." he nodded and then shifted his gaze for half a heartbeat to the corner where Kenshin's image stood before looking back at me. "It has been a while."

To my absolute horror, Kenshin smiled. "It is good to see you Aoshi-san. You have been away far too long." Aoshi gave a tiny acknowledging nod, so small that no one else was close enough to see.

I squeaked, I must have because suddenly all eyes were on me. But I turned, less than gracefully with a wide mouth to look at Kenshin and then to look at Aoshi. He could see Kenshin. This man could see death just as I could.

Somewhere between my ungraceful squeak, and my goldfish stare between the two of them, Aoshi figured it out. And his eyes widened nearly comically as he looked at me. I am certain there were quizzical looks all around, but none other than the two of us knew what was going on.

"It appears Kamiaya-san," Aoshi said stiffly but with a very curious flicker in his eyes, "We have much to discuss."

As Sano would put it…

No shit Sherlock.

* * *

Manami: "affectionate beauty" or "love sea."

Reviews are the only satisfaction I get for my writing. So please, clicky that button below and tell me what you think.


	11. Chapter 11

The Insanity of Us

Chapter 11: It all makes sense now

A/N An awesomely obese thank you to JMai, Sirwayde X2, Illegitimi, miniwoo, WEIRDkittywwinz, inKSpiDeR, andalogia, bluengel-maggie, Iridescent Twilight, Pinay (X7 the awesomeness of you to review nearly every chap is awesome ) SoroNoMiko (X2)

Guys, I cannot thank you enough for your patience with me and this story. Real life makes writing harder for me and honestly, I didn't think I was built for it. But I was reading through all the great things you guys wrote in your reviews, and I got my act together and finished up this chap. The Insanity of Us is only about four chapters away from its end.

And I want to thank every one of you out there who waited for this, and every one of you who gave me support.

Thank you, more than you could possibly imagine.

Thank you.

Disclaimer: On some planet, far far away....it's mine...but here and now....well...I can't say it..but you get the idea.

**T****he Insanity of Us**

Chapter 11: It all makes sense now

As Sano would put it,

No shit Sherlock.

Aoshi must have developed Death's telepathic power as well because just as the thought flashed through my mind, one corner of his lips quirked a tiny little bit upwards; The normal human equivalent of holding your gut and laughing out your innards. Peachy mental imagery right there.

I smiled back.

"What are you doing here Shinimori?" We must have smiled at each other a micro second too long for Enishi's paper fine patience. Jealous? Nawww.

The lip-quirk faded as Aoshi's face returned to its normal blank wall display that screeched business. He spun around and walked up to the body curled up and unconscious on the wooden veranda. With a practiced ease, he tugged away the cloth face mask of the body. "The Oniwabanshu have been infiltrated."

Misao swore, something foreign sounding but acidic against the ears. Lee shifted seeming to actively push his paranoia another notch. Enishi just became really, really still. Which was always a bad sign when it came to the constantly active man. Take all but fell over to get a better view of the figure.

The face was young, a boy just reaching mid puberty, 14 at most. It also banged all kinds of warning bells in my head. I knew that face. Not well enough to identify, but I had seen it at least once.

By instinct I glanced to his hands. Cut off gloves revealed slim fingers bared in the preferred way of some ninja, with nails that were very neat, very short and very clean. And then something clicked

Brat!

That little brown messenger that delivered Misao's letter. He was cleaner, and apparently meaner but that face would not be mistaken for anyone else. Or those nails. But somehow...it didn't seem to click. Misao was no longer a technical part of the Oniwabanshu, why would she one of their ninja, an infiltrator no less, to send her message?

"I know this kid. He said his name was 'Brat'. He came by yesterday. I thought he was one of your messengers Misao. " When in doubt, ask.

Misao was beginning to look like she could have swallowed a fish, whole. "You've seen him before?" and after a microsecond and at an ear splitting pitch she continued, "You think he is my MESSENGER?!"

I nodded. Aoshi had the first glimmers of worry in his face, and that was making me very nervous.

"Kaoru," Misao continued, at a forced calm pace, "I sent my letter to you via pigeon."

Somewhere in Japan, a plate shattered and all of us heard it.

"Explain."

That was Enishi, not me. Though it should have been.

Misao looked away, gathering her thoughts with a frown. "I sent in my pigeon from the port a week ago. " And then she seemed to click things together and then turned and looked nearly accusingly at me. "That's why you had your bokken with you last night. You didn't know I was coming!"

I shook my head. "Actually, I did. Your letter ....it said 'tonight', I remember freaking out at that part. It was very specific about the time. Did you plan that far ahead?"

Misao hissed under her breath. "They forged it, the bastards! They took my letter and gave you an edited forged version."

"Irrelevant." Enishi cut in. I wanted to protest, but the look of absolute thunder in his face stopped me. His eyes were a burning midnight blue. "They had the letter for a week. What were its contents? How much of information has been compromised, and who is that to you Shinimori." Enishi glanced at the prone form of Brat and looked back at Aoshi. I wondered if I could slowly edge away from his sudden shift in personality.

Misao looked like she was about to vomit. Lee made as though to cup her elbow, in the way some men did for the elderly. She waved him way. "They know about you Enishi, not by name but the hints were obvious enough. Nothing else."

Suddenly Enishi flashed a feral grin, his dark eyes shining suspiciously. "That explains why they haven't done anything else."

They haven't attacked because of Enishi? That made no sense. He was a wanted man after all. But before I could ask, Enishi moved his gaze to Aoshi and jerked his head in the direction of the body. "Who's the kid? You seem to know him."

Aoshi looked troubled for a bit. "He is one of our youths in training in one of our splinter groups based in Tokyo. They are mostly dismantled now, but we have a few in function for intelligence gathering. "

If Enishi was any less of cultured man, he would have snorted. "So, you've lost control of your external factions?"

Aoshi blinked. "No. They are just responding to orders from central command."

"I thought _you_ were central command."

Something in Aoshi's features darkened, becoming sharper. "Tamaki has communications. They follow his orders under my name."

"When?" Misao shot up, if possible looking sicker.

"Three days ago."

"Shit."

I bit my lip. Aoshi's men were sleeper agents. They didn't have a home base so to speak, and they were only ever contacted through some sort of secretive message system. There was not actual way to find them outside of it. It was a way of keeping them safe should central command fall.

Their protection was now working against them.

"Wouldn't they know that it's you here?" I asked.

Aoshi shook his head. "Cloning features is a basic infiltration technique. Looks mean nothing. They will not take time to ask questions."

Misao's hand flicked down to her many sheathed daggers. "But why haven't they attacked yet? Everything is here. You know how many of them are out there. They are holding back for something."

Enishi snorted. " I told you, they are holding back for me."

Aoshi arched a brow in question.

The smirk hanging off the edge of Enishi's lips was as dark as his eyes. "Your Tamaki, he is a government official?"

Misao nodded, also looking wary.

That dark smirk just went up several notches and began to flash some very white, pointy teeth. "He will never get approval for an all out offensive so long as I am in the area. The government needs me too much."

"What?" More than one voice went into the question.

"Misao," Enishi's voice was authoritative but with a slight hint of teasing. He was having fun with this. "What are the main exports of my company?"

The question snapped her out of her lost air, and she seemed to read off an internal list she had memorised for years. "Silk, wheat, cannabis, opium, gold, spice, iron, gu-" Her eyes widened as some great lightning bolt struck her.

"Guns. You supply guns to the government!"

He smirked. "Exactly. And I'm the only one they've got that's even willing to consider trading with them. The underground is not fond of the Government, and ordering it in from the west takes too long and costs too much."

Aoshi frowned. He didn't like guns of any kind, I knew that, so it was only morbidly ironic that it was guns that were saving his life again. "This protection won't last long. He is unstable and will go against direct orders if he thinks the ends justify it."

Enishi's dark blue eyes flashed unpleasantly and suddenly I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my gut.

"I'm counting on it."

* * *

Half an hour later I was in my room kneeling in a half meditative half contemplative state of mind. I was tranquil. I was clam. I was anything but strong. No. Right then there was no strength in this humble body. Because if there was strength here, I would grab Enishi by the hair and bash his head repeatedly against a sharp rock until the inner bits came out and my hands were bloo-

Nope, no strength at all.

It was a stupid plot. A plot worthy of the combined efforts of Yahiko, Kenji and Sano. If the enemy has the advantage of numbers, then do something supremely stupid like instigate a God damn attack in an arena they weren't prepared for, so that they are at the very least, _somewhat_ disorganized. The blond man had the balls to suggest it with a straight face.

Oniwabashu ninja's 'somewhat' disorganized would be like having a katana that was somewhat bloodstained. These were men under Aoshi. Their 'disorganized' could still topple the government with one hand behind their back. As it was he had to personally take Brat away to do, what I could only assume was some form of brain washing. I had no doubt he would succeed.

But apparently, between two ninjas, a demented bodyguard and a psychopath, no one else saw it that way. So at sunset, to get the collective panties of our avid spies in a twist, we were going to make a little trek down by the docks. Where there would be a ship waiting for us.

Take, taking the time to show off nominal knowledge, informed that all ships at said port had their sails damaged. The waiting list for new ones were a month long, at least.

Then the words 'Government Registered Ship' made all that disappear. After all, Mr Tamaki was a government man, why ever would he want to damage a government ship? They were the good guys.

Moron.

So there I was, three hours from sunset, kneeling in my bedroom and waiting for some company. Of both the earthly and unearthly sort. The ripple of shadow from a wall of my room started a second before the tiny rap against the bamboo.

"Come in Aoshi."

By the time the dark haired man walked in, the whole deathly family were in the room and looking polite and presentable.

"Good evening Himura-san."

Kenshin bowed.

I smiled. Aoshi made it a life-long goal of keeping people at a distance by using last names. But he was also tricky. There were apparently two Himura's in the room at the moment, so it was perfectly acceptable to greet both at once, if only one could be seen.

He was most skilled in the art of not acting insane while dealing with ghosts. Perhaps I should ask for some pointers.

"Which Himura, Aoshi? We appear to be a little crowded at the moment."

He smiled. It was both beautiful and wistful. Revealing crow's feet wrinkles around the eyes and a smile that should not have been kept hidden for that long. Relief was a good look for him.

" I apologise. A greeting to both Himura Kenshin and Himura Kaoru." He paused for a moment frowning for a second and then I felt a slight peak of Ki in the room. "And to the three other spectres who are beyond my sight. Yahiko, Sano and Megumi-san?" He looked towards me for conformation.

Beyond his sight? Strange. "Yes. Was it a group for you too?" If left alone, the man could go on with the niceties for hours. I figure cutting to the chase would be better.

He nodded as he came down to a formal kneel before me. "My four subordinates and Himura-san. Have you gleaned their purpose?"

Damn, these Death guys travelled in packs. "Yes, in a way. But I was informed that they were not my....punishment. Whatever that means." I eyed Yahiko as I said this. He grinned and gave me a thumbs up but remained silent.

Aoshi let out a half-sigh. "You are lucky they are not so. Torment from an unchangeable death is most terrible."

Shit. He was going into zen-backwards-monk mode. "Unchangeable death?"

"They came for my sin, the blood on my hand and the betrayal on my conscience. It was my punishment to watch them fade without influence, taking those I cared for with them. Himura is the last. If it is not so for you," he looked up, his dark eyes glimmering strangely, "than perhaps there is hope yet for us."

Fade without influence..."You mean I could influence who they took?" I looked amongst them. Familiar faces on an unfamiliar presence. "I could influence you idiots, and you didn't tell me?"

_Not all that comes to you is meant to be punishment Kaoru-dono. Fortune comes in strange forms. _Kenshin's words from earlier today echoed loudly in my ears.

Sano shrugged, "You had to figure it out without our help. Cosmic rules and all that shit. Frosty there was a lucky break for you."

"Yeah Busu." Yahiko sneered. "Getting a bit slow in the head in your old age arn't you?"

Aoshi squinted, as though he was listening to a far away echo. He shook his head and took a deep breath. "Himura-san, have you seen their true faces?"

I bit my lip. My eye caught sight of Megumi who looked coy and sneaky as ever, right before she flashed her eyes to their unnatural deep maroon and then back to their normal human lie again.

I immediately looked away and Megumi let loose a string of foxy hoots.

"Yes. But just only this morning. I still am not sure of what exactly they are. What do you know of them?"

Aoshi nodded. "You are taking it well. I was... not so tranquil after."

I know people who would pay big money just to see Aoshi un-tranquil.

"Himura-san, the entities, they are each different because they carry different duties. Death takes many forms in many skins. Violence, illness, misfortune, old age and young death are given different bodies."

As he said it, my mind pieced together the titles with the faces. Battousai was violent by nature and now by title as well, Megumi pale and thin was illness, Yahiko small and childlike was young, and Sano hazy and indistinct could only be misfortune.

Shit. Megumi at least wouldn't be an immediate threat, and I couldn't for the life of me figure Yahiko out. But Sano and Kenshin were eerily probable. With what was happening tonight, I feared that both of them would be called on.

"I would ask of you, Himura-san, a favour." He continued.

I nodded, my voice still stuck in my throat, choked silent by information.

" My previous spectres faded with the deaths of what was left of the core Oniwabanshu group. The only spectre left to me is Himura. And all I have left of my family is Misao. Her death, is one thing I cannot have."

Yahiko.

It all suddenly made sense. The Death of youth. An unborn infant is by definition youth. My hand found itself at my mouth, to hold back a gasp perhaps, or even to muffle out what was already loud in my ears.

Misao was going to die.

"Kaoru, please. If you can, however you can, make sure she survives. Their vendetta is with me, but she is what they need. I fear I might not be enough for her this time."

* * *

What do you say to that? I didn't know then, heck I still don't know. Whatever I said left Aoshi looking relived as he bowed once more before sliding my shoji door shut. Leaving me alone in a room full of Death.

Great, really.

"That went well." Kenshin cautiously offered.

I glared at him.

"You were talking to frost man, ya know. You're lucky you didn't freeze or some such around him. The man is _cold_."Sano, chewing on his fishbone dropped his two sen in as well.

Megumi smacked him in the back of the head. "Don't talk with your mouth full. And were you even listening to the same conversation? Shinimori-san just said that he was willing to do anything to protect Misao. That is the purest form of love out there; Not that a rooster brain like you would understand compassion if it bit you in the ass."

Sano flinched and covered his head with a broad palm. "Ouch man, stop it ok. I'm just saying there comes a time when a person must decide the value of a life. Either you love it enough or you don't. You can wrap it up however you want, frosty there didn't love her enough to be with her. He couldn't get over himself long enough to love her. I don't think he could love anything other than his principals. And they make cold bed partners."

Yahiko snorted. "As though you would know rooster-head, you don't have any principals!"

"Shut up ok! I'm just sayin' some things are bigger in life than just what you believe in. He made his choice, and if I think he's a cold man for it, what is it to you?"

"Shut up. All of you." I cut in before things could get truly out of hand. This conversation seemed as random as anything else. "What is going to happen tonight, and how do I stop it. That's all I care about right now."

Yahiko shrugged, in a way that always drove me nuts. "Can't say. You'll figure it out when it's gonna' happen. We can't be too helpful ya' know. Rules and such."

"Who the hell makes these rules anyway?!"

Sano blinked very deliberately. "You don't wanna' know jou-chan."

"Either way," Megumi snapped. "The evening will be here soon. You might not see us in this form for some time. We need to perform our duties."

A herd of someone's somewhere must have been walking on my grave because the shivers that climbed up my spine were choice.

"Who are you here for? Tell me that at least, if not when."

"Kaoru-dono," Kenshin was being soothing. Bad things were going to be said if Kenshin started off by soothing me. "we are not here for a single person. We are here for four very different deaths. It makes no difference as to who it happens to, just so long as it happens. "

I frowned. It wasn't making much sense. "Isn't that the same-" It hit me then.

They weren't assigned to people, they were assigned to events. Four deaths had to happen in whatever remained of my life. The only thing that could possibly change in that, was who it happened to.

This whole thing was ultimately pointless. Someone should have stabbed me in the beginning of this mess and gotten it over with. I was to be a witness to four deaths no matter what I did.

They lied. This was punishment.

"This unworthy one is sorry Kaoru-dono. But it is time for us to go. But remember what was said of the worth of life Kaoru-dono. Don't regret it." He flickered once from violet to golden eyes and then slowly all of them faded back to faceless formless shadows.

The sharp rap against my door a second after was expected.

* * *

The look on Misao's face told me that it was time for the first part of Enishi's plan to come through without her even saying a word. I was already in my hakama and gi with bokken in hand. Just about as ready as I could get.

The silence between us only lasted as long as it took me to shut the shoji door behind me as we walked towards the front gate where, no doubt the whole group would be waiting.

"I just saw Aoshi leave."

I nodded. In my head I went through the many, many ways a human body could be ripped to shreds by the hands of the insane and the broken body in my mind was always Misao's.

"What did you talk about?" She wasn't even looking at me. It was both uncomfortable and a relief at once. I don't think I could handle lying to her with eye contact.

"He wanted to talk about Kenshin." In a way, it was true. Kenshin, and whatever was wearing his face now.

Misao let off a half smirk."Yes. About Kenshin, but also about me. I am a spy Kaoru, I'm not stupid. What did he say?"

I bit my lip and wondered just how to word the gist of our conversation without making both Aoshi and me sound either crazy or condescending. "He...asked me to watch your back, when he could not."

She snorted and shook her head. "Thought as much. He still doesn't think I can take care of myself. I'm sorry to say this Kaoru, but between the both of us, I'm actually the one more prepared to deal with a no holds barred battle. I fight dirty and I'm unapologetic about it because it works. He can't see me that way though. That's how I knew he could never love me as I love him."

That wasn't true. I wanted to tell her so. But how could I say that she had the hand of death on her and Aoshi was terrified that she would die before him. I couldn't. But she had also said love. Not loved, love. "You still love him."

She suddenly had a distant look on her face. "I always will. But I know now, more than anyone else exactly why I cannot be with him. He does not feel for me as I do not feel for Lee. There is nothing Lee can do to change what I don't feel, as there was nothing I could do to change Aoshi. The irony is something only a sadistic God could throw my way. A great love is beyond my grasp."

"Misao...." What should I say? She sounded so...resigned. It was almost like she was waiting for death to come grab her. "Not all love must be great, or even fully mutual. Great love can grow from tenderness. Do not discount Lee. You may not love him greatly yet. But you still can. The kind of dramatic love you're looking for is as rare as the stories of them are numerous."

"But you and Kenshin..."

I smiled sadly. Yes. What we had would look like a dramatic storybook romance from the outside. "Before Kenshin married me he talked to me about Tomoe-san. A human heart can have many kinds of love Misao. Part of his heart, a part I could never touch would always be hers. She was his burning romantic heart killed off too soon. Our love was built on his tenderness towards me. It wasn't a great dramatic shift in emotion. It was choice. He chose to love me. Which in its own way made our love richer."

Misao's eyes widened.

"Would it be impossible for you to give to Lee what Aoshi didn't give you?"

Misao looked away, slightly pale. "I don't know."

* * *

Everyone was already gathered there and waiting. And when I said everyone, I meant everyone, ghostly forms included.

Take was nearest to me and looked terribly twitchy, but as I came to a stop beside him I also sensed a calm sort of acceptance.

"You don't have to be here Take, you don't have to fight. Go home. Protect Manami-chan. Yahiko would understand, whatever the hell you promised him."

He smiled, it was a half smile that reminded me achingly of Kenshin's when I was trying to convince him not stop being overly noble. "This isn't about a promise Sensei. This isn't about any stupid old promise. I am your best student. It's only fair that I watch your back, no?"

And then he had to destroy the image by giving a thumbs' up sign and shooting off a wink. "After all, it gives me something to brag about to the brats when classes start again. I think some of them are beginning to get a little bit too big for their bokkens. I need to chop them back to size."

I laughed hard. He was still so much that idiot that I moulded from youth. But he was also becoming a wonderful young man. If I had to wipe away a few tears because of that. So be it. "Stupid boy."

He gave that soft smile again. "Always will be sensei."

I gave him a little pat on the shoulder and continued forward.

Misao stopped off to the side slightly, and behind her, nearer than he had been in some time, was Lee for once without his trench coat. He looked about as armed as Misao in the small, metal and pointy department. I ignored the pale sickly form of Megumi hovering around the pair, hovering around like an ill boding crow with a curled up and furry Yahiko at her heels.

Aoshi was also free of his coat apposite the pair. His kodachi at his side like well trained dogs. He gave a half nod to me, which I returned. Battousai stared at me unblinking and fanged from the fringes of Aoshi's shadow.

And waiting like a ghost himself at my gates was Enishi. The sun just setting behind him set his hair on fire in watery yellow and gold. He looked like some strange sort of winter sun god; Tall, pale and strikingly beautiful on fire.

Behind him an exquisitely dark carriage waited for him with doors wide open.

His eyes were turquoise but there were flecks of dark blue waiting to be called out at any moment. Beside him, close enough to touch, lurked Sano. Hazy but as menacing as ever in his air of absolute misfortune, Sano. It stabbed my heart.

Enishi too could die this evening. This weird kidnapper-criminal-student-man made my life a wave of confusion and a different sort of hell. But he also brought me to life again. He gave me something to fight for.

I didn't love him. But...I could.

Perhaps it was time to take my own advice.

I stopped right before him. Barely half an arm's reach away.

He looked down at me from his ridiculous height. "You must leave as soon as I'm gone. The spies will get to him in fifteen minutes at least and it will take them as long to get into action. You need to be on the ship by then. As soon as they are sure that I'm not in the area, they will attack. There is no time for any mistakes. Do you hear me?"

Yes I did. And what I heard was _"Don't die don't die don't die don't you dare die!"_

"Ok. But you have to listen too." I grabbed a handful of his shirt just under his throat and tugged downward.

He arched a brow but bent to the pull without comment. Coming close to my face so we met eye to eye for what felt like the first time. He had beautiful eyes, especially up close.

"Don't you dare die on me, you hear? I refuse to accept it. I put too much work into beating sense into that thick head of yours to have it end unfinished. Be careful or I will beat you down myself!"

He smirked, his beautiful eyes softening in such a way that they seemed a light sky blue. "Hai, sense-"

I kissed him.

My lips pushing against the slightly parted seam of his with enough force to hurt. He tasted the same way he smelled, rich spicy and deep. My mind went to some other place where thinking didn't exist. He burned to the touch so much so that I thought my lips should have been steaming.

One second I was on the ground, the next I was in his arms with my feet on the tip of my toes with most of my weight pressed against his body with both of his arms braced around my back and my arms around his neck.

He kissed back like he expected no resistance. Lips, tongue teeth hunted for mine. He tasted me with his tongue like he never wanted to forget my flavour and wanted me to carry his taste forever. He pressed hard against my lips as thought he would never part again. And his teeth nipped as though he wanted my mouth to never forget his presence. He kissed as though he wanted to brand my body though his mouth so that for as long as I lived this would be how I always remembered him.

Hot, demanding and someone I wanted with every fibre of my being.

He pulled away as fast as he attacked me, but he didn't release me. Hot spicy breaths brushed against my brutalised lips as his stomach flexed with every breath against my hips in a way that set me tingling to the tips of my arched toes.

I was panting too, my chest brushing against his in a way that gave all sorts of wonderful mental images to me.

"That is an excellent reason to be careful sensei. Can I be promised such a reward if I return unharmed?" Sneaky, sneaky man. My hormones were telling me, the guy deserved to be molested half to death for simply breathing the same air as me, anything else was just that much of a bonus.

"You get anything you bloody want if you come back in one piece." A dangerous promise to give a man like Enishi. But I meant every word of it.

If we survived this, and he still wanted me, he could have me.

He grinned then, his eyes dark as midnight and flashing in an extremely flattering way. "Then you better keep yourself unharmed as well Kaoru. I will have my reward. And I will have it in full."

Lighting shot down my spine fusing both my brain and breath. The tingling was back tenfold. "W-whatever you say Enishi."

"Yes," He growled. Baring teeth as he restrained himself from taking his reward right here against the gate. God knows I could feel how badly he wanted me. Pressed up this close, I had no doubt, that if we all survived this disaster, I would be one satisfied woman.

Slowly, reluctantly Enishi slid me down his body. Causing all kinds of shivers down my back as every ridge of his body pressed hard against every curve of mine. My feet were on the ground but my head was still in space.

With aching gentles, Enishi cupped my face, bringing me back to reality. "Don't die Kaoru."

I smiled at him, burning with want need and a deep tenderness for a man who wanted me beyond all reason. "Don't die Enishi."

* * *

My body shivered slightly as I watched the carriage disappear from sight around the corner.

"We should go now." Aoshi voiced from a polite distance behind me. I didn't know if he disapproved of what he saw, and frankly, I didn't care.

"Alright." I patted my bokken at my side gently. "If you're ready, let's head off. We don't have time to spare." And I began walking to the docks. We had to walk there because we had to make sure as many people saw use leaving and heading towards there as possible.

But we didn't have to be slow about it.

"Yo, Sensei." Take jogged up beside me and kept up with my brisk pace. I noticed that Take and Misao flanked me on either side. Aoshi held back as rear guard. A full battle formation.

"Sensei, you should have told me that you were serious about the whole training thing being foreplay! I'll never think of the dojo the same way after seeing that! You guys didn't do anything in there did you?? EWWWW I don't want to know! Don't tell me!"

I smiled. Some things, even in the face of battle, never changed.

"Well Take-kun...we didn't use the dojo....much."

Take's groan was a thing of beauty.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N ...err *takes deep breath* OH MY GOD YOU GUYS ARE THE MOST AWESOMEST PEOPLE OUT THERE! 100 reviews! I didn't believe it. Took me about two days of staring at the same screen to believe it. And when I did, I had to go curl up into a tiny ball for leaving you guys hanging for so long.

I am sorry. This was by far the hardest chapter to write. Mostly because...well you'll see why at the end. I am making this up as I go along and trying to fit everything into a set idea and organization when everything seems to be made up of puzzle pieces from HELL is tricky. And the RESEARCH *cries* wars and fighting and timelines *cries hysterically* it makes NO SENSE; unless you threaten it to death with a large stick of course. Throw in assignments, work and the horrible thing known as family, it's like juggling knives without the cool factor. But to be fair... there are just three chapters left (including an epilogue) so it shouldn't take me half as long. I thank you all for being so patient with me. And to all of you wonderful people out there who banged your head repeatedly against your keyboard while waiting for an update...here is my giant bandaid of headache-be-gone, along with tons of love!

A big loving pile of thank you goes to: **miniwoo, Pinay, stela, pinkspider, paige_morgan, 9frugal and blueangel-maggie**.

Special notes to:

**JMai:** You have no idea how much hearing that from you means to me. Thank you so much. This chapter is dedicated to you. When writing got tricky and hard and I really wanted to give it the boot, I came back and had a read of the lovely review you gave me and I threw my butt back on the saddle. You have been with me from the beginning, and I am so madly, insanely, happy that you still like it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

**Alpha T Sigma.:** Thank you for being so honest. I am most comfortable writing in first person but I agree that it's sometimes really hard to get into, especially if the main character is off the wall loco-bananas. I am very pleased that you stuck with TIOU and enjoyed it as much as you did. And as for the lack of sleep...let's just say it goes both ways. It's now 6 am and I haven't had a wink of sleep because I NEEDED to finish this up tonight. Don't be disappointed in your writing. God knows I'm never happy with mine. But that's why we write fanfiction yes? For the love of the game, so to speak. And ultimately, there is no way, short of massive head trauma, that anyone's writing can get worse, only place to go is up. Chin up babe. I'm sure you rock something chronic. I'll have to stalk your work as soon as I get over my strange insomnia and have it confirmed

Disclaimer: dudud lalala mumumu...oh wait...I'm supposed to say something right...err always support causes that embarrass your parents. That way they won't dare to forget your birthday XD (insomnia does not a sane person make)!...oh..and RK is not mine...drat it!

**The insanity of us**

Chapter 11: The knife cuts both ways

Sunset changed the roads of Tokyo into human rivers. Shops lit up, fishermen docked and the government workers all but sprinted away from the heart of the city. After nearly forty years of living in this city, today was the one time in my life that I was not bumped into, pushed aside or shoved. None of the other members of our little morbid crew were bumped into either. Any other day, I would have been shouting for joy.

One generation away from war, survival instinct was still thick in every eye that watched us. They parted like knife cut fruit, unwilling to be near a group with such a dangerous air. I was glad. Attention was exactly what we needed. A great deal of the evenings plot hinged on the fact that the police would take an interest in us and investigate our destination...and by extension this disgusting mess I seemed to have landed into.

No policeman in the world could realistically fill Saito's carefully cultivated shoes of sword work and paranoia. But his current replacement, trained by the grasshopper himself, was a close match. Torao Kane was no swordsman, but was more than a match to his mentor when it came to aggravation and suspicion. If there was something fishy going on, he would send more than a few policemen down here to investigate. I noted that both Lee and Aoshi did nothing to hide the live steel they carried. Steel that is nowadays strictly illegal. Smart men. We made no secret our destination as well; clearly marching along the most direct, and populated path towards the docks.

If all else fails, Kane-san would at least have five highly suspicious bodies and a trail that would nail this Tamaki bastard eventually. I could trust him to be tenacious like that. Worst case scenario, that is.

Our pace was brisk, slightly less than a jog – slightly more than a walk. It is only by mercy of my continued training that I could comfortably keep up; though the slight over-pant of my breath reminded me that I was no longer a teenager. I don't have youth to heal me. Younger men have died of less than an accidental stab. I was going in for a full blown battle, with ninjas thrown in for fun.

From the corner of my eye the four grim spectres shadowed our steps. I looked away. Thinking about them made me feel ill. And the giant boulders in my stomach didn't need any more company. They reminded me, that in all likelihood, things wouldn't go well. They wouldn't go well in four very gory ways.

I gritted my teeth. If anyone would fall, they would have to go though me first. I had full reservation of one of these ghosts, and I fully intended to be the first.

A small niggling voice in my head whispered to me of my promise to Enishi. I squashed it under a violent swing from by mental bokken. I made a promise to Aoshi too. And Take couldn't be left to hang either. Someone was going to have to give Kenji the bad news, and it was going to be him. I suddenly wished, not for the first time, that I was graced with the legendary talent of the Battousai. He would have been able to do it.

I was not so sure I could.

"Hey sensei, you don't think we should have changed out of our uniforms before we got out here do you? I mean all this stalking around with derange serial killer look-alikes, can't be good for the dojo's reputation, you know?" Take mused, not even slightly winded. I wanted to kick him.

I snorted. "What difference does it make? How many bokken wielding women do you know? I think the whole town knows me by sight, in uniform or not."

Take ruffled his hair. "I guess you're right. But this means when Manami-chan hears about this, she is going to be upset, she is going to cry, and I will have to kick the ass of the idiot who told her." Take looked up from his feet towards me. "Would it be ok if I came late to class one if these days sensei, I feel my services will be needed elsewhere."

I laughed then, giving Take what he was so obviously fishing for. "Take, if you get yourself out of this unharmed, I will personally trade with you all your morning classes, so you can spend your dawn's assuring Manami that you are whole, alive and still able to marry her. Heck, i'll drag the both of you to the temple myself, willing father or not!"

Take grinned. "It's a deal!"

Misao snorted, "It will probably be one of those weddings where the dagger will be used to keep the father out of the wedding as opposed to keeping the groom in."

I arched a brow at Misao, "Been to many of them?"

She smirked. "My fair share. My own wedding was nearly one of them, probably more likely that the groom would have been stabbed, beheaded and un-manned, if Jiya got his way."

From the corner of my eye I could see Aoshi's figure tense. His lips pressed thinly together and his bangs coming even future forward to shield his eyes. Guilt.

"Well", I added lightly, "If all things don't go to plan, you can take up what Jiya didn't."

"I plan to." Her smirk could have put fear in the dead.

I smiled. At least someone was going to go home satisfied. Call me an optimist, but I was putting the bets on Misao.

The docks, in reality were a thin stretch of river that had a deeper base than its opposing side. Long distance vessels wouldn't be able to make it up here, but smaller trade ships, mostly for domestic travel could. For this late in the evening the docks were dead empty. Fishermen should have been at their boats preparing for a night out fishing to bring in the first produce at dawn. Their absence was highly suspicious.

My eyes ran from what was usually a sky filled white sails only to see empty masts and rope. As Take said, most of the sails had been damaged and were wisely removed. You don't hang up a ripped sail unless you had a burning need for useless strips of cloth in the near future, even I knew that.

Only one ship had unharmed sails. About average sized, the government seal proudly flapping in the breeze from its mast. Homely looking and slightly battered, it was a thoroughly undignified location for a fight to the death. The paint at its side proclaimed it to be _Chokichi Maru. _

Good fortune my butt.

"We are not alone." Misao whispered, palming the hilt of a slightly longer blade at her hip without slowing down.

I looked around, wide eyed. I could see nothing. There were a bunch of trees, shadowed by the setting sun on one side, and the river on the other. Not many conventional places to hide. But I was no ninja.

Lee had his sword wrapped casually under his arm. The hilt was facing forward for easy access, but other than that he looked calm. If it wasn't for the low, jerky, rumble from his throat I would have thought he was the coolest man on earth. Second to Aoshi, of course, who was an absolute winter deluge of calm snow beside the Chinse man.

I must have looked like a nervous wreck compared to these guys.

Aoshi slowed down, coming in line with Take and myself. "When I give the signal, get as far away from the action as you can. The first wave will be violent. It will be ugly. It will be fast."

Take rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Could you guys BE more creepy? You could have just said, get away from the sharp pointy things fast .No...you have to do the whole looming thing! And the whispering thing...and the look-"

I calmly gave Take a firm smack behind his head. Not enough to damage him, just to shut him up. He talked when he was nervous, which was often. I knew exactly how much of effort to put in.

"Thank you Aoshi." I whispered, while ignoring the spectacularly strange faces that Take threw in my direction.

Aoshi nodded and then raised a brow at Take before swiftly returning to his usual pace at the head of the group. I waited only long enough for him to get out of earshot.

"Take, stop treating this like a game. Please. I know you're nervous. I'd rather you leave right now then see this. But you and I both know that you won't. So at the very least take this seriously. There are no rules here. There are no boundaries. If they hit you, you won't be getting up. So shut your mouth, and pay attention."

Take bit his lip. He looked so achingly boyish. "I know sensei. I won't fail you. " His soft brown eyes meeting mine with a steel in them I have never seen before. "But I need to fight, for me. For everything you have thought me. I need to protect my precious things."

I could feel the tears in the back of my throat, thick and violent, but I forced them down. Take was as much my son as Kenji is, as much as Yahiko was. I raised a palm as rested it lightly against Take's cheek, feeling the rough stubble even against my palm.

"Stupid boy." I smacked his cheek lightly, "Shave when you get home. You're beginning to look like a street tramp."

He smiled, the steel fading from his eyes, just a little. "Hai, sensei!"

We slip into silence then. Slowly, my nerves began to tingle with an alien awareness. I could have sworn that I could feel the weight of multiple eyes resting on my shoulders. I could feel the brush of hungry breaths against my neck. I tried my best to hide the shiver that sliced down my back. Foreboding only worked if you had the choice of walking away. Which was a choice I didn't have.

As we near the ship I noticed a carriage parked nearby. Inky black and without any distinguishing markings at all, it rang all kinds of bad bells in my brain. This was bad. Very bad.

And Enishi was nowhere to be seen.

Shit.

We stopped.

"That carriage...it's not good is it." Take whispered. Suddenly I was struck by how young the boy really was. He didn't have a vile plotting bone in his body. Not even enough to see a trap when he saw one.

From the fleeting shadows, figures began to appear; first a handful of them, then many, many more. They perched on the trees like crows. Ninjas. Hundreds of them: in the trees, by the boats, on the road behind us, around the carriage before us. We were surrounded.

And then Misao began to laugh.

It was a light airy thing, but poisonous, like a blow dart. As one the ninjas in my sight began to tense, some inching their hands defensively in a very special area of the human body. They knew that laugh the same way I did. These were likely Oniwabashu ninjas then. Only they could possibly know the evil laugh Misao can make right before her knee meets the soft, vulnerable, bits of a man along with a delicate blade (or broom) coyly cutting into his throat.

"I am glad you find this situation so humorous, Mikamichi. I assure you, the Government does not." The voice came from behind silent, dark carriage. Smoothly, with a well balanced grace he walked out, a thin book in his hand and a pair of delicate glasses perched on his nose. He looked as though he had spent a comfortable few hours reading casually in the sunlight.

He was not remarkably tall, after Enishi, few men could ever be. He was thin, wiry even. With precisely neat hair and a pale pinched face that, though not unpleasant, was not particularly handsome. The stench of slimy bureaucrat just reeked off him.

Misao's laugh ripped to a snarl. "Rot in hell Tamaki, you revolting waste of human flesh."

Tamaki smiled, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth. "Now, now my dear. That's no way to greet your intended."

Misao hissed and spat at the ground. "Over my dead fucking body!"

His smile ripped free from his face, peeling back to a blank, chilling gaze. "That, my dearest, can be arranged."

I could tell immediately, what ilk of human filth this Tamaki fell under. This was the kind of man who would willingly, and proudly, condemn millions to death simply by signing a sheet of paper. He supported any level of brutality so long as it met his ends. And he would feel no guilt for it later.

As if summoned, three men stepped out from the shadows behind the carriage. The ugly blue uniform gave them away as military officers. They also carried the deplorably shoddy, mass produced, sword at their waist. But it was the gleaming guns on their shoulders that worried me.

Aoshi pulled out one of his sword. The glide of metal rang sharp in the air. Tamaki's gaze fell on the taller man with a dull disregard.

"There's no need for that Shinimori-san. You are out armed and outnumbered. I do not want to fight you. It serves no purpose." Tamaki absently pushed up his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

Aoshi did not so much as twitch but for some strange reason I had the impression that he was vaguely amused.

"What are a thousand ants to a stick of dynamite?" Misao asked, darkly cheerful. "You scraped the bottom of the barrel for the youngest, most half assed bunch; unfit to even call themselves the Oniwabashu. These guys can't throw a kunai straight to save their lives! Come off your stupid horse Tamaki, numbers mean nothing when there is no backbone to go with it." Misao turned and shot a look towards the trees, smirk and all. Some of the bodies shuffled uncomfortably.

"Pitiful." She hissed between grinning teeth.

Tamaki coolly eyed the shadowed figures, now beginning to fidget. "All it takes I one shot Mikamichi-san. And as it were, I seem to be the one here backed by most of the artillery."

Misao snarled, curling her fingers smoothly tugging out one of the kunai strapped at her waist. "But this isn't about them is it Tamaki. You could have a thousand of our ninjas, and it still wouldn't be what you want. Isn't it?" Misao leaned back and let off an eerie lopsided smirk. You don't give a shit if all of these bastard weasels die slow horrible deaths." Between heartbeats, Misao casually grasped the kunai in her hand and flung it straight towards one of the figures perched on a lower brunch.

It tried to move away, but wasn't quick enough.

The pointed blade sank straight through its throat and pinned it against the tree like a gurgling grotesque butterfly. Black gloved hands clawed briefly at the steel in its flesh, touching the metal disbelievingly before flailing to get free from its hold, but the combination of shock and slick blood made it impossible. The figure's desperate jerks slowed down and then stopped dead in seconds. The scent of blood hissed in the air, but only lightly. A drizzle of rain preceding a monsoon.

The other figures seemed to glide away from what was once one of them; jumping from branch to branch in a futter of nervous energy. It might only have been my perception, but there seemed to be nearly...a few less of them, perhaps slightly less than a hundred now.

Misao's eyes were hard as ice, and just as cold. "You want me. So stop pissing around about it."

I felt ill. This was not Mis- I halted the thought where it stood. Whoever Misao was years ago, it is not who she is now. And between the child and the warrior, the warrior was the only one of any use. Even if the coolness of her random execution rattled me. Beside me Take hissed either a curse or a prayer under his breath.

Tamaki merely, raised an eyebrow. He didn't even bother to look at the body.

"That was entirely unnecessary. This is the exact reason why you are no longer fit to control such a rich resource." Tamaki straightened his back, the gleam of fanaticism entering his eye. I know that gleam. It never came with anyone sane.

"You with your archaic ways, your backwater mindset and your silly traditions, it is remarkable you haven't been killed off before. It is like a decrepit dog guarding a gold mine. The future of Japan has no place for those unwilling to change with the times."

His words only seemed to rile Misao up future. "Japan does not need to go to war to prove its greatness! I will not let my men be cannon fodder for such a pointless waste of lives! Nothing great can come from such blind desire for power! The Oniwabashu were created to protect Japan and her king, not feed this hunger for power _you_ seem to think she needs!"

"That is exactly the mindset of the mediocre! The future is larger than Japan! We have steam machines, and weapons and troops! Japan shall expand!" Tamaki raised a slim finger and pointed it directly at Misao. "And you are the agent that shall help me be immortalised in it!"

Lee hissed, and shifted himself between Misao and Tamaki in a single step. He barred his teeth in a beastly display. His sword sang angrily as it was tugged out sharply from it sheathe.

Misao pulled tugged out another kunai, absolutely livid. "I'd see you dead and rotting first Tamaki. I'd do it myself."

There was a second where Tamaki's eyes blazed the fire of angry insanity. It was as chilling as the pale blue of Enishi's gaze when he inched towards madness.

"I have attempted to be polite so far, but if you insist on being difficult I'll just make this simpler for you." Tamaki gave a half wave with his left hand. As a unit all three of the officers raised their rifles. The air became thick with the soft hiss of hundreds of kunai unsheathing.

"Mikamichi, come with me and your people live. Don't and they die. Your choice."

I noted that he used 'your people' not 'all of you'. Misao was clearly too important to whatever plot the slime bag had to be killed right now. That was an advantage.

"Come with you and they'll live?" Misao said incredulously, "You'll forgive me if I don't trust you. You arn't exactly the Godly beacon of honesty and truth."

Tamaki smirked, the fading sunlight finally killing the glare of his glasses and letting me see the pair of perfectly calculating brown eyes behind them. " Ah, but Mikamichi-san. I need you alive and willing; which you would not be, if your friends were...damaged, yes?" He sounded perfectly reasonable, which meant he was lying.

"Kiss my ass Tamaki. You could kill a million people, and I still wouldn't give you the code. The country doesn't need insane assholes like you, with power."

"Ah yes, the codes for those mysterious agents of yours." Tamaki tugged up the book in his hand and began to read off it.

"Korea, China, England, the Americas, Singapore, Hong Kong, Naval officers, Military officers, political aids..." Tamaki looked up from the paper, "Your list of undercover agents is by far the most impressive one of any organisation we have seen." He paused, carefully shutting the thin leather journal and slipping it into the inner pocket of his brown jacket.

Misao's eyes widened. Aoshi hissed something that could have very possibly been a curse. Not good. If he got such details as the agent's location and role, they were already dangerously compromised.

"More than your life is at stake Mikamichi. There is much to be gained for me by selling this information. And should these agents of yours be discovered...well I hear that the westerners have methods of torture beyond our wildest imaginings." Tamaki's eyes flashed with a twisted sort of delight. Power was everything to him. No matter how he got it.

Aoshi suddenly jerked upward, as though struck by a sudden idea. "Tell me Tamaki. Do your superiors know you delusions of power?"

Tamaki hissed then, his pale cheeks gaining two points of sharp colour. "They are no matter! It is time for fresh blood to rule. The old ways are dead!"

Aoshi smirked then. His lip curled in a sharp slash that was an ill reflection of his real smile. "Then you are not really allowed to be here. You have no backing other than you own. How comforting."

Tamaki seemed to pale.

Aoshi tensed, lifting his sword ,"Then be prepared to die."

Suddenly there was a blast. It threw dirt and ash into the sky. Bits of trees and earth flew up into the air and it was only by years of conditioning that I was able to grab a hold of Take and throw him to the ground. I dragged his body towards the marginal shelter of the ship that was meant to be our escape, with a hand that was shaking with a mixture of fear and excitement. By the blessing of Kami alone my bokken remained in my hand. Take stared out at the wild blasts. He had never met gunpowder before. Its distinctive smell curled on my tongue like ash. As we hid tightly against the wood of the ship's bow, bits of wood, dirt and squelching flesh rained down around us.

"Sorry we're late. But the government is truly not as efficient as it used to be." For the very pit of my soul, the voice hit a note that made every inch of my skin tingle. Torn between fear and a strange hunger, I peeked my head over the edge of the ship's bow to have a look at the aftermath of the explosion.

Enishi stood tall and broad against the cloud of dust and fiery light of the setting sun. His eyes were such a dark shade of blue, that they seemed an inky black against the last embers of sunlight. The streak of trees that sheltered the numerous ninjas were nothing but large splinters in the ground. The earth around those stumps seemingly torn up in slices...almost as though it were laced with gunpowder.

Brat. So that was his mission. Lacing the ground with gunpowder while in the thick of his comrades. Brilliant actually. Desperate too. But brilliant.

"Kaoru!" Enishi called out. His eyes and shoulders tense as he tried to look though the hazy air for me. The girly part of me, that defied all sorts of maturity, fluttered away in appreciation. This was a battle; a war even. And this specimen of manhood was seeking out me, me in all my unladylike unattractiveness.

Slowly I stood up, waving my hand weakly in the air to get more of his notice. I had to cough for a moment after. The smoke filled air choking me.

He came to me immediately. Running around and sometimes over the black draped figures of the men scattered around, seemingly dazed. Enishi came up to me and grabbed a hold of my shoulders, torn between shaking me and throwing me into his arms.

"I'm fine. What happened? You were meant to be here!" I asked, sharply. My eyes catching the hard lines of his face and drawing the appropriate bad news from it.

Enishi shook his head. "It appears that the Japan had bigger fish to fry today than to pay attention to the demands of some Chinese underground tradesman. I managed to gather around some of my men, but I was afraid that I wouldn't make it in time." Enishi tugged me close, trapping me under his chin and in his arms. His heart was pounding a violent beat against my ear.

After a second of hearing that sound, I reluctantly pulled away. "We don't have time for this. We need to find Misao. If she falls into that bastards grasp, all of this would have been for nothing!"

Enishi tensed, as though to fight and I braced myself for battle in return. For a long second he looked at me, eyes black with fury and fear. Then suddenly as swift and as brief as a butterfly he dipped his head and presses hard lips against mine. There was nothing romantic in the kiss. It was hard and brutal and all the sweeter because in that moment he was as raw as I was.

He pulled away, meeting my gaze. "Take care and stay safe. If anything happens to you, I cannot be held accountable for my actions. Remember that."

I stared at him like some kind of idiot. Enishi just placed not only his heart but his sanity as well in my more than clumsy hands. The weight of it shook me to my core. But this was not the time or the place for such emotions. I nodded briefly, brushing my hand against his cheek. "Same to you, you proud stupid man."

He smirked once more, pausing briefly to press a chaste kiss to my head before melting away to the dust and violence of the crush of bodies beyond the shelter of the boats ample bow. Whoever Enishi brought with him, they were making a remarkable effort to create absolute insanity out of an already mad situation. From what little I could tell, the few ninjas that were still coherent and moving, were having a hell of a time dealing with the commoner clad men, who seemed more than a little rough around the edges.

Shaking off my confusion, I turned back to look at Take, and double check that he was ok. The boy's pupils were dilated to the extreme, but he was responsive. But one thing that I did notice was that his hand was empty of his trusted bokken. The idiot must have dropped it in the confusion of the explosion. It didn't take me a heartbeat to come to my decision. I kneeled down to Take's height and promptly gave him a hard smack to the face. In seconds the dazed look faded away from his eyes and Take was back in reality from his little shock induced mental holiday.

"Take! Take you with me? Say something, stupid!" I had to shout to be heard above the ringing in my ears and the groans of the injured, dead or dying around us. Take blinked a few times and then nodded.

"Ok. I want you to listen very carefully, ok?" He nodded again, mouth seemingly sealed shut with the lingering effects of shock. "Take, hold out your hand." Obediently, in a way he wasn't normally, Take held up his palm, eyes wide, but gaining more of the burning spark of Take's personality. Gracelessly, I placed my bokken into his hand and curled his fingers around the bamboo. "Hold this with your life, Your LIFE, do you hear me Take? "

"Yes sensei." His words were a little shaky, but it was better than nothing.

"You better survive this boy! I will not accept anything but survival, do you hear me?"

"YES sensei." He was still too dazed to fully understand what was going on, but he grasped enough of what I said to blindly trust my words.

"Now, you are going to be attacked by Kunai and by sword. Be prepared for it. Are you ready?"

Finally his eyes lit up with comprehension. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. "Yes Sensei! "

Immediately I fell to my knees, and peeked out from the edge of the wooden boat. So far we were hidden, but judging from the skirmish going on beyond the boat, that wouldn't last for long. First things first, I needed a weapon. Trying to be as calm as possible, I cast my eye over the prone bodies that littered the edge of the docks. Any sword shape wood would do really, I wasn't going to be picky right now.

When a sudden glint caught my eye, I was torn between curse and a prayer. It was a sword. One of the cheap reproductions that Tamaki's bodyguards carried with them. It was just a little ahead of us. About ten paces to the right. It was bokken shaped, which was really more than I could ask for at the moment. The way the boat was suddenly rocking I figured we had barely seconds of hiding left.

"Take!"

"Yes sensei?"

"I need you to follow me and block any Kunai thrown towards us until I get my swo-Bokken, do you understand me?" I changed my word mid sentence. Take was barely holding on to whatever reality he was in. Shocking him any future would do no one any good.

He nodded. His eyes still slightly glazed, but coherent. Good enough. "Ready? One two thre-" I was out like a shot and Take on my tail like a shadow. Even with the ringing in my ears, the sound of battle was horrifying. The groans of the fallen, the screech of metal against metal, the squelch of feet against dead flesh made my skin crawl. I tried to push aside all of those sensations to focus on the glint of metal that was my target. Focus. That was the only way to keep sane. Focus.

The smooth wooden handle was slick but light. It designed to sink into its sheathe and look like a single stretch of wood as opposed to a traditional katana. With a flick of my wrist I flipped the blade around, turning it into a serviceable sakabato. I was no killer. And I wasn't about to become one for the sake of some slime ball. Not a heartbeat after the switch did my instincts flair up and my sword arm flick upwards. The ping of metal against metal rang loud in my ears. The kunai aimed at me, dropped harmlessly to the wet ground. Kami bless small favours. Another streak of instinct, another shift of mental and the harmless drop of a kunai that should have hit my heart. This guy was being persistent.

I looked around sharply for the source of the kunai. There were no trees to hide in, but the mesh of bodies around me provided sufficient cover. Beside me I noted that Take had taken on a kunai bearing ninja in combat. He was holding his ground well and seemed to have his opponent on the defence.

Good.

With a smooth slither of instinct I twirled around and swung downwards in a broad arch, and just as my arch was nearing my hips, I twisted my waist and diverted sideways, hitting a dark clothed chest just inches from me. He had a gleaming kunai in his hand aimed directly at my throat. With another swift swing, I heard the bones in his chest give way under the metal in my hand. I couldn't see most of my opponent's face, but the patch of cloth over his mouth suddenly appeared damp, as though doused by blood. He hunched forward and then fell gracelessly to the bloody ground. He would live, but only if he didn't choose to join the battle again. As I walked by him, I kicked away the kunai in his grasp. No point leaving a weapon in the arms of a marksman.

My next opponent met me soon after. As did my next and the one after. It was a steady stream of black clad bodies just waiting for my harmless metal blade to fell. In the midst of this wash of bodies, I caught glimpses of the others. A spike of pale blond for Enishi. A streak of swift metal laced black for Misao. A veritable arch of blood around Lee. And smooth flashes of the silver streaked head of Aoshi. Take was a vengeful angel in the blood stained gi of his dojo uniform.

It should have been impossible to tell friend from foe in that stream of bodies. Except that fate had given us a merciful hand. Enishi's men were not dressed for battle. They were in Yukatas, and Kiminos, one dressed in nothing more than full bodied tattoos and the knotted cloth of his underwear. Our opponents were painfully formal. And that was their downfall.

Just as the tide of never ending black seemed to wane, and my sword hand free for just one second I felt the sharp spike of fear that preceded a supernatural presence. It tugged something in me, a puppet sting I didn't know I had.

I ran. The sting pulled, tugging incessantly. As I arrived in a slight clearing at the very edge of what was once Tamaki's carriage, horses long gone, I caught sight of several things all at once.

Aoshi stood proud with Katana in hand over the body of one of the many scattered ninja. What he couldn't see was the barrel of the gun pointed unerringly at his back by a pair of steady hands aimed by a pair of mad brown eyes.

Tamaki. Armed and aimed. Aoshi had no idea.

Behind the shaking figure, hovered the red tinted form of the sharp toothed Kenshin. Violence. Violence for Aoshi.

In my line of sight, Misao, wide eyed and seeing. She knew. She knew as I did what was t happen. She was too far away to stop it.

I was not.

As the vision struck me, another pull began. The sliver of my puppet sting began to tug again. I swiftly glanced to my left and as I looked, time began to slow.

Take. Trapped in the heat of battle against one figure. Proud and strong he was in mid swing, the arc perfect. A preparation for a defensive strike. A strike that would be pointless when the man in the battle beside him tripped over a cadaver's legs and pieced him right through his ribs from behind. The hazy figure of Sano swirled over him. Claws out and pointed. The tips were very nearly touching Take's throat.

Time grinds to a halt. The battle is still and silent. All bodies frozen in their last pose. From all corners of this field the terrible echo of deaths voice rang.

"**Decide**."

I blinked, confused by the sights and soundlessness of the air.

"**Decide now. You don't have time.**"

"WHAT?" I shriek with a voice hoarse from battle cries.

"**Decide which life to save. Which destiny you preserve. Decide**."

I turned my gaze from Sano to Kenshin. Each looming and grim over two parts of my heart. "You want me to choose?"

Sano cocked his head, a vague motion though the fog that surrounds him. "**You have ten heartbeats to choose.**"

"WHAT?"

"**Nine**"

"You are joking! You can't ask-you ca-"

"**Eight**"

My heart was clawing at my throat, burning a hole in my lungs. "you can't...I have no right to choose!"

"**Seven**"

Kenshin tilted his fanged head and blinked in the way of reptiles. "**The decision is yours. Whether you choose to move or not-**"

"**Six**"

"**-it is your choice. A life **_**must**_** be taken. Two lives **_**can**_** be taken. The difference is your boon. Your blessing**." He finished.

"**Five"**

Aoshi or Take or both even. Kami save me, but right then my mind was blank.

"**Four**"

Aoshi or Take. Aoshi or Take. Aoshi's death would kill Misao. Take's death would kill Manami-chan. Either way the decision would kill me.

"**Three**"

Oh Kami. This was no choice! This was no boon! But as doubts stabbed my mind, my body tensed, preparing for a sprint. I didn't know which way it wanted to go. Not yet.

"**Two"**

Aoshi Take, Aoshi Take, Aoshi Take. Kami, Kami please guide me. Please.

"**One**"

"Forgive me."

And as the booming return of sound stabbed my ears I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. As fast as I could bear. I had already cursed someone to die, that blood was in my hands. No matter what I did now, that was my sin to bear.

As I stabbed my sword forward putting all my excess speed, all my shaking fear into that one, life saving thrust, the loud shout of the unsaved life killed me. It killed me better than steel.

Take's eyes widened, the whites bright against the smudges of blood on his face. My sword sank deeper. Deeper than any wooden sword ever could. A sakabato did not have a sharp tip. A bokken did not have a sharp tip. A katana did. The squelch of flesh under the sharp blade was sickening, but I pushed forward. My blood slick hands finally let go. The sword stuck out of the body like another arm. He was one of ours. Kimono clad and tattooed. He was one of ours, who had to die because of an accident he was going to commit.

His brown, dirt stained face, haunts me to this day. My fist kill.

Seconds later a loud bang and a violent scream heralded my second one.

In sick, slow motion Aoshi tensed, his back arching. On his chest a bloom of red spluttered out, creeping down the still white shirt. He twirled around, to look at Tamaki, his shooter. His back was a cave of blood and bone, flesh torn away from the bullet. I wanted to look away. I wanted to be sick.

But I didn't.

I did this.

So I had to watch. I had to remember.

I don't know when I fell to my knees. The mix of blood and earth stained my hakama, touching my knees with its cold fingers. There might have been noise. I didn't hear it. All I could do was see.

Aoshi took a shaking step forward, and then another, before crumbling down to the ground. Misao caught him on the way down. Lee had a dagger at Tamaki's throat not a half-breath later. He was furious. His eyes were black with madness and anger and a pain nothing could touch. He didn't pull the gun away from Tamaki's hand.

He cut the hand straight off.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, but I do have a kick arse recipe for drop jam cookies that I would trade you for it? Pwetty please?

A/N I cannot entirely express my love for all my beautiful reviewers and readers. I honestly thought to shelve this story but coming back and reading through all the wonderfully positive thing you guys have written to me kept me tapping away at that keyboard.

This one goes out to ya'll ever patient people out there. Thank you for waiting so patiently for a lazy arse author stuck under RL to remember the beauty and joy of fanfiction.

**The Insanity of Us**

**Chapter 13: Stronger Broken**

As I watched that twitching hand flop its way down the blood-wet ground, my senses reeled. The smell of metal and gore of the bodies scattered on the ground, the sticky wet feeling of fresh blood drying between my fingers but worst was the vibrant red that streaked from the twitching remains of Tamaki's right hand. I was mistaken, Lee didn't cut the hand entirely off. But whatever he did to it left it flopping uselessly on his wrist and bleeding.

Lee wrenched the gushing limb and lifted it high up over Tamaki's thrashing head, slowing the blood. The man's brown pupils were wide behind his skewed glasses, his skinny body hardly causing a shift in Lee's grip as he flailed in pain. His lips flapped but I heard nothing but the damnable ringing from the explosion.

But I had little time for his sufferings; my attention was pulled to the prone figure of Aoshi lying in the mud. Misao was bent over him, her hands nervous butterflies over the twitching brittle arch of bone and blood that was his chest. He was beyond help. The blood gushing out, the spikes of white bone, the thick blood seeping past his pale, pale lips were clue enough. The silver tears down her face were of desperation.

Death, in Kenshin's human in face stood as a vulture beside the two. I wanted to scream a warning, but my body had no will to move. All I could do was watch like the audience of a Kabuki tragedy.

The one thing they don't tell you about death is the reality of its swiftness. Aoshi didn't have time to conveniently ease everyone's conscience before he left. He gasped, and arched with what little muscle he had left and then dropped to back to the ground, unmoving. His eyes were still wide open. His kodachi still clenched in his hand.

No, last words. No dramatic posturing.

Just a man shot dead from the back.

A man that I chose not to save.

As I watched, Misao seemed lost, her hands shaking Aoshi's shoulders as though to wake him. I could nearly see the first tendrils of terrible, terrible guilt already gauging its way into her skin; or perhaps that skin was mine? I watched her delicate hands against that stained shirt, I felt for the first time in my life a sort of compartment in my head open up. It made my vision a little fuzzy, it dulled all sound and it softened the edges of the broken shards of emotion in my chest.

It was like a soft silk cradle in my mind that promised to take everything away.

I suddenly felt so cold. My entire body shivered and I had to clench my jaw to stop the chatter of my teeth. The edges of my vision wavered lightly.

This...was not good.

Kenshin stepped forward then. His back straight and his golden eyes as hard as steel. My heart nearly stopped dead when those gold flecked eyes drew themselves over Misao.

"N-no!"

It couldn't have been my voice, that raspy broken thing. But all eyes turned to me. Misao's shoulders tensed and then she looked up at me with such bone breaking_ hatred_.

The shuddering bits of my shattered heart dropped straight to the pit of my stomach. Misao knew, she knew my sin. Ugly terrible thing that it was.

"Sensei!" The voice was whisper soft, barely slipping through the ringing, but when I heard it, it woke me.

A large calloused hand clamped itself on my shoulder. "Sensei, are you alright? Did you get hurt? Oh god, Sensei. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault!" Take's hand was shaking, but his fingers gripped hard enough to bruise. He skidded down onto the ground next to me and tried desperately to get my attention. The sight of his wide frantic eyes and face I still remember with the curves of youth snapped that little compartment in my head shut immediately.

No. I had no regret. And if what I had done was a sin. Then it was a sin I would choose to bear over again.

I turned back to Misao and tried with all my heart to say with my eyes what my mouth couldn't speak. I would grieve for Aoshi, probably for the rest of my life. But when it came down to it, I couldn't regret my decision. I couldn't regret Take.

Absently I gripped Takes outstretched hand.

Seeming to grab a hold of some greater event happening around him, Take looked up and searched through few still warring bodies to catch sight of Misao and what exactly had me on the knife edge of shock.

"Shit!" Some strange sort of calculations seemed to pass between his ears and whatever the result was, it equalled to Take throwing his arms around me and squeezing me tight. "I'm sorry sensei. So sorry. Oh god. It could have been you." The shake that was in his hand evolved into a full body shudder.

Something flickered in Misao's eyes, hardening into a burning fire before fading out a little. She turned with a glare, one hand already gripping the serrated blade strapped to her ribs.

From the edges of my vision, I saw Kenshin's sombre figure nod with a strange sort of smile. As Misao stalked her way to where Lee held Tamaki's bleeding body Kenshin made his way to Aoshi.

Kenshin knelt over the body, his back towards me. I had a hazy impression as though he was plucking something, harvesting fruit nearly. And when his stood, he held in his arms a small bundle. Like a crystal orb it flashed from shadow to light in an unfathomable rhythm.

He smiled at me. "I cannot speak for my shell entirely. As you know I am not your Kenshin. But if he were here, I have no doubt he would be very proud of you Kaoru-dono. Never regret that which you had to do." He gave me another fleeting smile before his face carved into and impassive slab of rock.

"It was an honour to be in your presence Kamiaya Kaoru, Wife of Himura Kenshin, Mother of Himura Kenji and agent of Yukishiro Tomoe." Kenshin bowed, stiff and with great ceremony. I could taste goodbye, it steamed off him in thick wafts.

He then melted, it is the only way I can think to describe it. His body seeping into the ground like a puddle of ink. It was final and was like watching Kenshin die all over again. I knew that it wasn't really Kenshin, I knew the same way that I knew Aoshi's death was not entirely my fault.

But the heart and mind are not one and the same. And my heart at this point stuttered to a stop and in my head, that soft velvet place enveloped me.

Things, for me get a little confusing after that. I don't remember clearly what happened next. The bits that float around in my head might be true memories or things I made up from the stories that were told to me in the aftermath. But both images are equally jagged, broken things.

There is an image of Misao next to Tamaki, yelling at him in some unfathomable language made up of swears and acrid curses with a dagger pressed delicately against his face. Just as her blade curls its way to just under his temple, right next to his left eye, a large figure stepped itself into my line of sight, blocking the view entirely.

I know I remember his screaming.

They tell me that I began crying then. Looking up to the looming sky and seeing Enishi, one eye shut against the leaking blood from a small head wound, I had broking into wrenching sobs that even Take's hold couldn't suppress. Nothing could be done to stop it, I was hysterical. Normal procedure would have involved a slap to the face. Enishi was lividly against that, claiming the hand of anything that dared strike me. Romantic I know, but highly impractical.

What I got instead, was a nerve pinch that slid me into unconsciousness with the echoing cries of a man having both his eyes and tongue carved out of his face.

* * *

"She isn't some sack of rice you can claim like that!"

"She made me the promise. Anything I desire for my return. If I choose to take her it will be well within my rights to do so."

"That doesn't include kidnapping!"

"It was not conditional."

"Charming as usual Yukishiro. Tell me, is that how you get all your women? Or just the ones who arn't smart enough to run away?" There was a long, drawn out sigh and then the faintest scent of burning tobacco.

"But aside from the fact that she has been the pain of the Tokyo police department for one reason or another over the past 16 years, I don't actually give a flying damn about what happens to Kamiaya Kaoru. My job here is the 'fix this mess' as the dunderheads upstairs put it, and that needs you Yukishiro to get the fuck out of my precinct. I'm willing to offer you a safe one way trip out of Tokyo, but anything more than that will see you and this whole ragtag bunch of baboons hanging from the gallows. "

"I will not leave without her."

"You won't leave with her!" Take answered.

And then the argument started around again.

The men were trying to be quiet, in the ineffective way that only men could achieve. But even seated around the corner from my room, their words were only slightly muffled.

I knew I should have told them I was awake. But I didn't want to deal with the strange looping argument at the moment. And knowing Take as I did, he would pounce on me the second he knew I was back to consciousness and hang on like a leach.

Enishi...I wasn't so sure about.

And Torao Kane (or Saito junior as I liked to call him in my head), the distinctive third voice out there...well the less said about him the better.

I didn't want to deal with whatever was going on beyond that door. My head was full to bursting already, and whatever involved the three of those heads put together wouldn't fix me right now.

When I had first returned to consciousness, reality did not have the decency to give me a few moments of oblivion. It was waiting for me right beyond my closed eyelids. The sight of Aoshi's mangled body, that robed tattooed man who died by my hand, the flailing body of Tamaki as he bled, they were all lurking patiently till I came back.

My hands still tingled with the echoing ring of metal against bone and the sensation made my stomach tie into knots. Beyond the battle grit still clinging to my skin, I felt filthy; stained in a way that I could never wash off. I kept my hands carefully under the covers, terrified to see that the bloodstains would have seeped into my skin and left a permanent scar as proof of my kill.

Part of me wanted a bath, preferably in a white hot fire.

The rest of me wanted to curl up into a little ball and just stop. I had had enough of being strong. There is only so much you can ask of someone before they give up. I could taste the very precipice of oblivion on the tip of my tongue.

All my life I've had things demanded of me simply because I was the last left behind. Left behind by my father, by Kenshin, Sano, Yahiko, even by Kenji. It is a woman's lot in life to hold fort while the men are away. But I was not fully woman in that way. I fought battles, and now I've claimed lives and yet, yet the other half of my burden was not lessened. Not fully woman, not enough man and yet carrying the weight of both.

Was it too much to wish to be selfish, just this once?

But I knew the answer even without active thought. I knew it because these were the questions I asked myself years and years ago as I lay in this same bed, freshly widowed.

I couldn't stop. Too many people relied on me for me to halt. I would rest when I was dead.

I just like that, I settled back into the groove that I carved in my head after Kenshin died. Cut your day down into small pieces, small tasks that you tackle one at a time and somehow the day passes by faster. Every task done with all your attention, every day given a neglecting thought.

With each small victory, somehow you can live.

The first thing on my list was a bath. After that, came dealing with whatever it was he men were quarrelling about. After...no. I stopped my thinking there. It did no good to get too far ahead.

Getting to a bath involved getting up. Getting up involved pushing away the covers. Which in turn involved moving. So I moved.

In this way, I picked up my necessities and made my way to the bath as quietly as I could. I didn't want to be disturbed, not yet. Not before I looked composed and rational. It was another trick of Kenshin's that I picked up. If you look perfectly reasonable, you are more likely to act perfectly reasonable, or so people thought.

The bath was only just beginning to cool and the floor still damp with water when I arrived. An idle part of my mind wondered if the previous occupant was Enishi or Take, or perhaps both? The idea of both men sitting together in a bath was comical enough for me to let out a light, nearly hysterical giggle.

I bathed, scrubbing hard till I was certain that nothing remained from the battle, paying particular attention to my hands, which were to my surprise when I finally looked at them, pristine. They were thoroughly wiped down while I was unconscious, not even the small lines of mud remained under my fingernails. Again my thoughts weighed between Enishi and Take being the culprit.

My gut was strangely inclined towards the former.

I didn't give myself time to soak and by extension time to think, just a quick rinse with the—by then— nearly icy water and I felt whole enough to get out of it and get dressed in a light yukata. Braced by my grooming, I pushed open the door and came face to face with the waiting world.

Literally.

Right by the doorway, leaning back like a petulant teenager was Enishi. The damp curls of his hair and clothes pegged him as a—if not_ the_—previous bather.

He looked up, moonlight obscuring his eyes behind his glasses, but I had the impression that he stared me down from the roots of my loose damp hair to the naked toes of my feet and memorised every detail between.

"Are you well?" It wasn't his normal silk smooth tone. He must have swallowed gravel, or some other assortment of small stones while I was unconscious.

I couldn't see it, but instinct told me that behind that thin pane of glass, his eyes were as dark as the midnight sky.

This wasn't Enishi, I was in audience with the white tiger of China.

I nodded, not trusting my words. His eyes seemed caught up with the damp, loose waves of my hair. It was likely his first time seeing me with my hair free. I wondered if he approved.

The silence hung heavy between us. The dark, ghostly, taste of sandalwood bloomed on my tongue and throat sealing me in the memory of his kiss. I licked my suddenly dry lips, a move in fuelled in part by unease and a sudden need to taste him over again.

"If I had known you were going to take a bath I would have had your water heated."

From the past a faint echo of a ghostly voice crept up in my memory.

"_You should have told this unworthy one you were going to bathe, this unworthy one would have kept the bath warm for you Kaoru-dono." _

I clenched my eyes shut. Perhaps that groove of habit I carved in myself has grown brittle with time. The emotions I shoved past it seemed to leak at the edges and I felt on the verge of breaking. It was such a small thing, to have someone who cared that you didn't have warm bathwater. But it was one of those iconic cornerstones of comfort and family that I had missed terribly.

I desperately wanted to have someone to cling to, to have that one person to carry at least some of the weight that I seemed to constantly bear. But I didn't know if I could risk it with Enishi, or even if it was something he wished for. My heart too raw, my skin too thin to take much more of a beating from such temptation.

Against my will, I felt my eyes prickle.

No. Not yet. I could cry. I gave myself every permission to cry; But not here, and definitely not now. Later, when I was alone. After had made all the hard decisions; I could grieve then. It worked back then, and it bloody well should work now.

I swallowed down the emotion. Imagining a large dark chest in my head, I carefully placed the feelings within it and sealed it shut. When my eyes opened again, I was calm.

"I didn't want to disturb anyone." My voice was beautifully composed. Had I the capacity, I would have been proud of myself.

Enshi didn't budge but I got the impression that he hardened, turning from old wood to cold marble.

"Torao Kane is waiting to speak to you. He arrived not long ago."

I nodded. "I'll speak to him in a minute. I need to know what happened after I passed out. Where is Misao?"

Enishi tilted his head, contemplative. "Misao has left Tokyo with Lee. She wanted to have Shinimori buried with his comrades."—I winced, flinching at the flash of memory of Aoshi's body. "She will be returning as soon as she has dismantled the Oniwabanshu, or as much of it that is still under her control. "

"Dismantle it? But she's free now. She can stay in Kyoto again. The Oniwabanshu is centuries old, you can't just up and dismantle it."

He shook his head, the moonlight carving fingers though his hair. "Today is merely the tip of the iceberg. The government has been using more and more force to get full access to the Oniwabanshu. Tamaki may have been acting alone, but most of the officials in the area knew what he was up to, and they didn't stop him. Misao would rather be dead than give them that power. " His lips suddenly curled into a dark smirk.

"Their reaction towards me today, proved their interests to be very...short-sighted."

He didn't need to explain that the Government of Japan might need to be looking out for some new allies to trade arms with. Either that or they need to look out for a certain kind of midnight visitor that leaves you dead by morning.

I swallowed down the discomfort. After what we went through today I couldn't carry blind faith with regards to the government anymore. When I reach hell, I'll thank Tamaki for that. After what I had to sacrifice, all in the name of some idiots' greed, I was more than willing to not take action against something that would prevent it from ever happening again. Even if it amounted to an assassination."

"Shortly after Misao was done with Tamaki, Torao arrived at the docks. He was...displeased." Enishi shot off a dark smirk, giving me a good idea as to what exactly 'displeased' entailed. "Apparently the favours that I had called in were tragically unable to arrive on time but they were more than willing to assist me, conditionally of course."

"Of Course." I parroted, my mind already getting an inkling about what was going to come out of Enishi's mouth.

"In exchange for my safe departure, the protection of your school's reputation and the general hassle free lives of all other parties involved, I have to leave the country. Quietly. And presumably, never return."

Someone dropped a pan in the kitchen. Or perhaps all the pans in Tokyo dropped at once. That was the kind of shock that struck me.

"L-LEAVE Tokyo? But why? They were the incompetent idiots!"

Enishi shrugged. "They are the incompetent idiots in power. It's meant to serve as part of the cover for the carnage at the docks. The story they will leak out is that some members of an 'independent task force' managed to locate and subdue me in the area. Uncertain of my identity, they summoned a well known previous victim of mine, namely you. Explaining away your very public track towards the docks. When you arrived there I got loose with the help of some of my...local associates and managed to escape."

"They are blaming this whole thing on you! How can you agree to this?"

He chuckled then. Dark and gravely the sound grated to my ears and made me shiver. "I am not a hero Kaoru. I am a well known criminal with a long history of violence, kidnapping and illegal trade. Not the stuff of heroes at all. It is easier to build on a vile foundation than redeem it."

"But you didn't do anything to cause this. If anything you were here to make sure that things like this didn't happen anymore." My stomach was a mass of knots. Enishi leaving? Would he do it? And if he did, what of us? Would he demand I go with him? Could I even go with him? Would I want to?

The other half of me was still reeling from his words. A vile foundation. I wondered if the two lives I had claimed today qualified as vile enough. Perhaps if I took into account the fact that I had a death by illness and an infant death hanging over my head, it would tip the scale?

Was it unforgivable?

I trembled. My fingers shook so hard that I could nearly hear their rattling. The locked chest in my head trembled with me.

The sudden scent of sandalwood creped in for real; prickling my senses. I stubbornly clenched my eyes shut, begging a few more moments to get myself under control. A calloused finger tapped my chin and tilted my head and on instinct my eyes opened.

The gash over his eyebrow had sealed over and had a shiny coating that could only be the leavings of a healing salve. His face was hard, lips pressed thin and jaw clenched. Were I a weaker woman, I would have been terrified. But as I met his gaze, the raw edges of my heart burned. His dark eyes were frantic, desperate. Seeking in my own something he was terrified to find.

I should have been afraid. Any other sane person in the world would be afraid. But sanity was one thing I proved to be in short supply of.

"Do_ not_ hide from me little dragon. I will take your anger, I will even take your hate. But do not give me your disregard."

"I don-" the finger that tipped my chin, moved to cover my lips.

"You are hiding. Anything you say otherwise is a lie. I have fought every day of my life to become the kind of person who cannot be pushed aside for anything. To this day only one human being has ever done so. I was too young to stop her then. I will not let you do it to me now."

He slid his free hand to my waist where it pulled me close till my forehead pressed tight against his shoulder and his breath teased strands of my hair.

If that inner cage of mine shook before, it was positively buckling now. In his arms, surrounded by him, by his strength I could believe that he would take on the world. That he would champion any cause I give him to his very death.

But could I ask him to bear my redemption for me? I was too old to start from scratch. Too weary to pick up the mantle of fighter, healer, caregiver again. I couldn't give anything to Enishi anymore. Not with blood on my hands.

He wasn't asking me to hold his fort. He wanted to hold mine.

"I-I can't. Not yet. If I let go, I will go to pieces. I-I have things I must do. And you said Torao-san is waiting."

His free hand curled into my hair, fingers shaping to cradle my scull. "There is nothing in the world right now that you have to face if you don't want to. Trust me to take care of the details. I can handle that man. But you have to ask, and you need to have faith. The world seeing me as a violent, unscrupulous bastard, I can live with. But I need to know, for certain that you carry no part of that with you."

"E-Enishi?"

He tilted my head up, forcing my gaze to meet his intense ones. "Trust me Kaoru."

Like releasing a weight from around my neck I invoked the ghost that haunted me still.

"I killed two men today. I removed two men from their families, from their homes and took away their futures." The words trembled in the very air and steamed with red hot condemnation.

I looked up at Enishi with watery eyes, searching for damnation in his eyes, waiting for the die of judgement to be cast. He came to me all that time ago seeking a teacher to remove him from that path. And now I failed him as I failed all my other pupils.

There was no hate in him, not even the faintest flickers of it. Instead I found sorrow and just a flash of what could possibly be guilt.

He leaned forward till our noses were nearly touching. "You have never been a murderer Kaoru, you couldn't be one even if you tried. If those men fell by your hand, they fell because you had to protect something greater. They wouldn't have fallen if you had been given any other choice. And if you cannot forgive yourself of acts you had to do to protect those you love, then you have damned me beyond all redemption as well."

And just like that the chest in my head shattered.

My little bath bucket fell to the ground as I clung to Enishi's shoulders and wept. He wrapped both his arms around me, tucking his chin over my. I was in a body blanket of Enishi, wrapped up in a way I haven't been since I was a very young child. It was both humbling and the most beautiful feeling in the world.

As my knees weakened, he held me up. As my breath gasped, he rubbed my back. As I wept, in fear, in guilt, in anger and in terrible, terrible, sorrow, he whispered smooth comforting words in my ear.

I decided right then that I would love this man. This wonderful, broken, terrifying man. Because, If nothing else, as he held me up, he proved without a doubt that he was already in love with me.

Blind faith was such a small thing to ask for in return.

* * *

I decided to meet up with Torao anyway. Enishi offered to take up the weight I carried, and I accepted his offer. But that didn't mean I didn't need to know exactly what he was bearing up on my behalf. I could trust the man as far as my wellbeing was concerned, in relation to anyone else—I was not so sure.

Forget that, the man was ruthless, and he knew it.

So without words we made our way towards my receiving room that was seeing far more action in the last week that it had seen in the year previous combined.

Torao Kane was a broad man with hair slicked back with what looked like my entire stock of cooking oil. He started off life as an administrative underling until he was 'found'—more likely exhumed—by Saito, and carved into a block more or less in his own image.

"I have to say Kamiaya san, not everyone gets the pleasure of keeping the head of the Tokyo metropolitan police department waiting. I have absolutely nothing else of more important to do this evening than to be at your leisure." He tipped up a tiny dish of sake in my direction with a nod. "Your alcohol, as well, is of substandard quality."

Across from him Take was nearly vibrating with temper. Torao drove Take around the bend on the best of days. Today he was liable to have furniture fling at his head for his rudeness.

"You were free to leave at any time Torao-san. No one would have even dreamed of halting your swift exit. And for such bad sake, you have gone through quite a bit of it." There were about five or six little jars around him alone, which I think should have finished up the large bottle of sake in my kitchen quite nicely.

"Quantity to make up for quality."

"Do you always drink so while on duty?"

His dark gaze passed across from me and rested on the looming figure of Enishi. "Only when the company warrants it."

Take growled in disgust. "Oh drop it you slimy thug. Between you and him, I'll take the evil creep any day. At least he picks a side and sticks with it. Right now I'd trust him to do your own job, and keep the fucking peace. Which you fail to do, repeatedly."

Torao shrugged. "It's not my fault that your school seems to draw every unsavoury character in the district of Tokyo and then expect me to 'fix it' when things don't go your way. I suspect that the reason why you keep winning the regional's is because you have your...associates rig the games."

Take slammed his fist on the table and rose to his knees. "You take that back! I could kick your ass three ways from tomorrow with one hand behind my back and still win the finals right after. We don't need to cheat. You're the one who can't seem to do anything, unless someone else is doing it for you!"

Torao cocked his head and curled his lip in a smirk that was a blank copy of Saito's "Try me."

"Enough."

The room fluttered to an immediate silence. If the whole evil overlord thing didn't work out for him, Enishi had good prospects of becoming a teacher. He had to voice for it.

"You wanted to speak to her, she is here. Speak your piece and then leave. Your presence here is not wanted neither will your behaviour be tolerated. "

Torao arched a suspicious brow and flicked his gaze from Enishi to me repeatedly, coming no doubt to all sorts of perverse conclusions that were wrong but not entirely incorrect. "If you say so Yukishiro."

"I do."

With a gentle hand to my back, Enishi led me to a table and knelt down beside me. I didn't know if I should be unnerved or pleased. He was taking the protector title to its fullest extent.

"Speak, and be brief." Enishi was all lovely, lovely steel and brimstone. In this mood he might have made Saito himself wary, let alone this pale doppelganger of his.

Torao's brows crept up his forehead with the slightest touch of wariness. I might have intervened if Torao had been a nicer man or If I had more energy. I found that I liked not needing to defend myself, at least not in this verbal venomous arena in which I was ill equipped for anyway.

Point one to Enishi.

"I'll give you the short version then." Torao said.

"Yukishiro is going to have to leave, at dawn the latest and he will not be welcomed back on pain of death. In return for his departure, your school will be publicly applauded for assisting the police department for the identification of a dangerous criminal and for the...excellent way you and your student held yourself in a dangerous situation. "He paused and let his incredulity hang in the air.

"You will not mention what really went on today and you will not attempt to harbour or contact Yukishiro Enishi or Mikamichi Misao at any point after this date. You will abide by these rules or your school will have its licence and ranking revoked."

"Am I clear?"

I already knew what he was going to say. Enishi had prepared me for it just a few minutes ago. But It suddenly felt so formal, so inevitable. Just as my lips parted to reject the offer, for no other reason than because it was unfair, I felt a long fingered hand place itself at the curve of my lower back.

"_Trust me Kaoru."_

His words from earlier still hung between us, his request still heavy on my shoulders. This would be the first test of my resolve. Trust him to know what he is doing. Trust him to fight on my behalf. Trust him to fight in his own way, at his own time.

"Fine. I accept your terms."

Take sputtered, turning an angry shade of reddish-purple. "Sen-Sensei what? You're agreeing to this? Its blackmail!"

Against my back Enishi's thumb did a quick congratulatory rub before moving away.

"No Take, its coercion. There's a difference. Blackmail implies we did something wrong. Coercion means we are threatened to protect the interests of someone else in the wrong." I didn't look away from Torao as I spoke. Let him feel my disgust.

I don't know how but I was sure that I could feel the waves of amusement radiate from Enishi even though his face was a regular brick.

Torao once again passed his gaze from me back to Enishi. "You understand that this is permanent. There is no way to change the terms of this agreement. No way to appeal the punishment. At the first sign of your failure to stick to the terms you _will_ be executed, without trial."

"Yes. You were very clear about that Torao-san. I understand the terms of the agreement."

Suddenly Torao's face broke into the most demented smile I have ever seen on a human face since meeting Enishi. "Excellent. My work here is done." He stood up, knees creaking slightly. "No need to show me out Kamiaya-san, I know the way-"

"Oh hell no," Take cut in between gritted teeth. "I insist. We wouldn't want to be seen as impolite, or anything. And I wouldn't trust you unsupervised in a bucket, let alone the dojo property. You'd probably set us on fire."

"If you say so."

As Torao made his way to the door, he paused for a moment and glanced backward. "Whatever you're up to Kamiaya-san, I wish you all the best. Give those idiots a run for their money. Just do me a favour and don't make me catch you. The paperwork alone would ruin my day."

And with a jaunty little wave he walked off escorted by a steaming Take.

"I'm willing to trust you so far Enishi. But don't expect me to sit down quietly and watch you hang yourself with this game you're playing with them. That's where I draw the line."

He let out a short chuckle. "I have no intention at all of letting them even come close to touching me. They never have before, and they never will again."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Follow their instructions."

"So you're leaving."

"Yes."

I threw my hands up in the air in frustration and stood up. "Excellent. Wonderful. I'll just go to my room then and get ready to go back to good old life as usual then. Come talk to me when you decide to start making SENSE!"

"Kaoru." His hand flashed out and grabbed my forearm before I could actually move away. Then with liquid grace he stood, towering over me again.

"Kaoru, you can't lie worth a damn. You never had the talent for subterfuge, and I will not have you start now on my behalf. The less you know, the safer I can keep you."

"But," trust, I reminded myself, I had to learn to trust. "But what if you can't come back. What if they hunt you down wherever you are and kill you? What then? "

He moved up behind me, resting his chin on the top of my head. "These men couldn't find foreheads without written instruction. Hiding from them would take no effort. I will come for you Kaoru don't doubt that. You owe me a debt after all. And when that time comes I want you of your own free will. You will regret it if I force your hand now."

He was right. To up and leave my dojo, my legacy with no one to inherit it would tear what little honour I had left in two. If I took that path, I would grow to resent Enishi, I knew my nature well enough.

He was giving me time to tie my loose ends.

"When did you become so chivalrous?" I joked, making light of all that came to pass between us.

Enishi bent slightly, placing his lips right by my ear as his free hand caught on to a lock of hair and began to run his fingers through it. "It's easy enough. I just have to do the exact opposite of every burning instinct in my body.

"Exact opposite?" I parroted, half lost in the smooth rich scent of him already.

" You forget, giving someone _options_ isn't a natural inclination of mine. I am no less a beast than ever I was. Right now it's taking all I have merely to hold you. My monster wants to take you. It wants to steal you away from all your other students, from all your other demands, from all your lingering ghosts. And when It finally has you to itself, it wants to own you. It wants to burn itself into your skin so far that everything you touch from then on will remind you of nothing but me; Will make you want nothing but me. It wants to infect you with some small measure of how you have marked me."

I gasped, my knees buckling under me under the heat of his words. His voice was pure gravel and like a kindling to his words, I burned.

Smoothly, his hand wrapped around my waist, carrying most of my weight. "So you see, I have to be an absolute gentlemen; because if I don't try to leash myself down, you will find yourself in the arms of a monster."

My thighs trembled, but not from fear. Not from fear at all. Partially against my will, my hand rose. My knuckles rubbed against his hard shoulder before reaching up to claw through the thick white strands of his hair and tug his head lower, pulling his ear beside my lips.

"Do I need to remind you about what happened in the dojo the last time you tried to tell me that you knew better?"

He growled, the echoing rumble from his chest shaking me down to the core. I recognised the sound of a smarting pride. "Do not tempt me Kaoru. I might just take you up on it."

Powered by some greater need, some greater fire beyond my body, I grasped a hold of his weight bearing arm and pulled myself free, only enough to turn around and face him woman to man.

"Why not?"

He raised a querying brow.

I grabbed him by the shoulders, locking my eyes to those dark, dark blue ones of his. My words were not thought out, they were fed from that hunger in me that he awaked. That hunger in me that for some strange and terrible reason tempted me to do away with propriety, that tempted me to do away with caution.

I wanted him. I've wanted him for some time. I was woman enough to admit it. And he was leaving at dawn. What did I have to lose?

"Tonight, before you go. You have been all talk so far. Give me something to remember you by."

"Kao-" he began but I sealed his lips with a finger.

"I am not a blushing virgin Enishi. You don't need to be so coy. I know exactly what I'm offering you. And I know exactly what you can give. I am not asking for anything more than that, not for tonight. All I ask is that you leave me something beautiful to hold on to while you're away."

I watched it shatter, whatever it was that he used to chain down the parts of himself that was made up of steel, fire and a burning unending hunger fractured right before my eyes.

I felt the teeth against my throat before I fully realised he moved. His teeth nipped, hard and fast against my throat. Leaving welts that burned. His hand, bolder than ever before, curved upward to cup my breast with only the thin cloth of my yutaka as a barrier. His thumb played a calloused metronome, drawing out the physical sign of my arousal, the grip nearly too tight.

But I liked it. I didn't want gentle. I wanted Enishi. All the while, the man let off a low, long growl.

The moment was irreparably shattered by the untimely arrival of Takemoto's voice.

"IAM VERY LOUDLY, AND VERY SLOWLY WALKING BACK TOWARDS THE RECIVING ROOM IN WHICH MY SENSEI BETTER BE APPROPRIATELY DRESSED AND ENISHI BETTER HAVE ALL HIS HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM."

Enishi hissed against my shoulder what could conceivably be a selection of choice swear words. "I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him and then have Lee hide his body."

I panted . More sensation than human being and more than willing to say hell to the world and have Enishi finish whatever he started with that touch of his.

" I DONT HEAR ANYONE MOVING VERY,VERY QUICKLY."

Driven mad by desperation I clenched a fist in his collar and pulled it tight. "If you can get me out of here before he comes back, I give you free reign to do whatever the hell that comes across your mind."

Enishi didn't need any more encouragement. He picked me up like I was nothing more than a tiny pitcher of water. Instinctively I curled my legs around his hip, my robe parting unbecomingly. I didn't notice a damned thing though because with the shift in his grip I found myself pressed hard against his stomach and a bulge that expressed more than anything his intent.

"Oh God Enishi." Taking it as permission, he finally _moved_.

Take might have seen us, or he might not have, I was in no state to care pressed up against the wall as Enishi curved one hand past the collar of my robe to grasp at my naked breast and his other hand fumbled with the door of what I could only vaguely recognise as my room.

My fingers were reigning havoc with his shirt fasteners before giving up and just tearing the cloth between two hungry hands. Enishi might have moaned, I don't recall. But I do remember the feel of his hard flesh against my palms. I remember the feel of cloth against my back when he threw me down to the still rumpled futon in my room. I remember the thick taste of sandalwood from his skin as it perfumed the air around me.

I remember calling out to him. Begging for him. I remember his growl every time he revealed new stretches of skin from cloth, every time he heard me whimper his name. I was no spring youth, but under his hand, under his gaze, I was the greatest treasure in the whole of Japan.

I remember the feel of his wondering tongue across the plain of my skin, halting for nothing, not even for my desperate pleas as he sunk down inevitably between my thighs, all teeth, tongue and unrelenting heat. As my mind splintered into a thousand brittle pieces, I only vaguely recalled the harsh growl of his voice as Enishi promised me that he was only just beginning.

And he proved himself right in every, terrible, wonderful way he could.


End file.
